GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University volleyball team aced their first test as the nation's second-ranked team as they recorded a season-high 11 service aces while out-hitting the visiting Westminster College Griffins by well more than 200 points in a 25-10, 25-11, 25-22 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference sweep on Wednesday evening in Brownson Arena.
 
The Mavericks, who received a first place vote in the AVCA Division II Coaches' Poll, which came out earlier in the afternoon, hit a season-best .337 as a team in the victory while holding the Griffins to a .094 team clip.  In the process, the Mavs improved to 10-0 overall and to 7-0 in the RMAC while the Griffins fell to 6-10 overall and to 3-8 in conference play.
 
Freshman outside hitter Sierra Hunt had a match and career-high-matching 12 kills to lead the Mavericks, who were also ranked second in last week's poll.  Meanwhile, the Maverick middle blockers were also dominant, recording another 15 kills while hitting a combined .609.  Savannah Spitzer had eight kills and just one error while hitting .500.  Haley Hahn also added seven kills on nine errorless swings, good for a .778 attack percentage.  She was also involved in all four of the Mavericks' blocks.
 
Right side hitter Gabrielle Vogt also came off the bench to record seven kills on .538 hitting to help contribute to the win.
 
Defensively, Kerstin Layman tallied 15 digs while freshman setter Sabrina VanDeList added 11 more while doling out 18 assists to register her fourth double-double of the season.  Ara Norwood also added 15 assists and nine digs as she and Emily Tucker each tallied three service aces to lead the Mavericks.
 
Tucker had all three of her on consecutive first-set points as the Mavericks dominated the opening frame, hitting .522 with 14 kills and just two errors.  Hunt had six of her kills in that set alone as well.
 
The Mavericks, who had been off for 13 days after being unable to make a Saturday trip to CSU Pueblo due to the recent major snowstorm, were not rusty in the least.  They jumped out to 8-1 and 11-2 leads and then increased was 12-4 lead to 15-4 with Tucker's triple ace bonanza while cruising to the first set.
 
The Mavericks were almost as dominant in the second as back-to-back kills followed by two consecutive aces by Norwood gave the Mavericks and 11-3 lead.  Norwood also had another ace in a 4-0 run as the Mavs built a 24-10 lead moments before Hunt finished off the frame with her fifth kill of the second set.
 
The Mavs did get off to a slow start in the third and trailed 10-7 before a 7-2 run allowed them to gain a 14-12 lead.
 
The Griffins then rallied to take and 18-16 lead as they maintained a small cushion before kills from Vogt and fellow right side hitter Maranda Theleus tied the set at 21 with back-to-back kills forcing a Griffin timeout. 
 
The visitors' Audrey Green, who had seven kills to lead her team, then committed two straight hitting errors before her teammate Malinda Messner cut the Mavericks' lead to 23-22 with a kill.
 
However, Spitzer finished the match off with two more kills as the Mavericks sealed the win.
 
The Mavericks were incredibly efficient in the first two frames, siding out at a 90 percent (10-11) clip in both.  They were also 13-for-23 (56 percent) in side-out efficiency during the third.
They also had a 55-40 advantage in digs and a 43-24 edge in total kills while holding the Griffins to just four aces and two blocks, all of which came in the third set.
 
The Mavericks will now have a short turn-around as they head out on the road to play in a 3-team RMAC pod on Friday in Alamosa.  They will face Black Hills State University at 2 p.m. before taking on the host Adams State University Grizzlies at 5 p.m.  The Grizzlies and Yellowjackets will open the pod at 11 a.m.