GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University Beach Volleyball team will look for more wins over NCAA Division I opponents this week when they head to Tucson, Arizona to compete in the Arizona Invitational at the Wildcats' Bear Down Beach.
The Mavericks, who are 3-6 overall including a 2-5 mark against Division I institutions so far this season, will play four matches over two days on Friday and Saturday in the 6-team event.
The stretch begins on Monday when they face Missouri State, Pepperdine and Grand Canyon at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m., respectively local time (11 a.m./1 p.m./3 p.m. MDT). On Saturday, the Mavs will take on UC-Davis at 9 a.m. local time (10 a.m. MDT). Exhibition sets will also be held on Friday evening.
Pepperdine is ranked eighth nationally while Grand Canyon is ranked 10th, according to this week's AVCA Collegiate Beach Volleyball Poll.
Live statistics for each of the official matches can be accessed at the link above.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks were off from beach volleyball play last weekend, but played four total matches in southern California last Monday and Tuesday (Mar. 22-23). They began the stretch with a 4-1 win over The Master's, an NAIA program from Santa Clarita, California, before dropping a 5-0 decision to tri-dual host CSUN on that Monday.
On Tuesday, the Mavericks fell to Concordia-Irvine, 4-1 and 19
th-ranked Long Beach State by a 5-0 county in a tri-dual hosted by Concordia at Great Park.
Ashton Reese and
Sabrina VanDeList were the winners for the Mavericks against the Eagles.
That duo also won their No. 5 match against The Master's.
Many of the Maverick beach players have also played two indoor matches since the trip to California. The Mavericks' indoor squad, ranked second nationally, won matches at Western Colorado on Saturday and at No. 13 Colorado School of Mines on this past Monday to clinch this spring's Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title. The indoor Mavs are 14-0 overall as the core of the roster has juggled both the indoor and beach schedules.
Leading the team
Reese and VanDeList are a team-best 4-2 as a pair this year and went 2-2 in last week's trip. After winning both of their No. 5 matches against Utah on Mar. 6, the duo defeated Anna Poole and Gwen Garate from The Master's by convincing 21-9 and 21-13 set margins. They also took down Alex Omaszta and Shannon Evans from Concordia-Irvine by 21-19 and 21-9 scores.
Reese, a redshirt junior, has only played with VanDeList this season after sitting out of the opening weekend. VanDeList is 4-6 on the year after playing with
Maddi Foutz in the No. 4 position during the opening weekend.
Record watch
Maverick redshirt junior
Ara Norwood tied the Mavericks' career wins victory last Monday when she and partner
Tye Wedhorn won their No. 4 match against The Master's. The victory was Norwood's 18th of her career, matching
Katie Scherr's record. Norwood reached the mark in four fewer matches than Scherr, who played from 2017-19.
About the Opponents/Series Histories
Missouri State
The Bears, who hail from the state capital Springfield, are 6-3 on the season and went 2-2 last weekend in their home Bear Challenge. Four of their victories this year have come against Ottawa (Kan.). They also defeated Houston Baptist and New Orleans at the ULM Invitational on Mar. 12.
This is the program's fourth season after starting in 2018.
The Mavericks and Bears played three times that year with MSU winning all three match-ups by a 4-1 score. All three of those matches were played in southern California.
Pepperdine
The Waves enter the weekend with a 4-11 record but are ranked eighth in the latest AVCA Collegiate Coaches' Poll. All 11 of their losses have come against teams ranked ahead of them including four to current top-ranked Southern California and four others to No. 4 UCLA. The Waves have also dropped two to Loyola Marymount and one to Cal Poly but do hold a win over then No. 17 Long Beach State, which defeated the Mavericks last weekend.
Melanie Paul and Simone Priebe lead the team with a 9-6 record as a duo. They are 6-1 at No. 2 and 3-1 at No. 3 but are 0-4 when playing in the top flight.
The Mavs have only played the Waves once before. That match came on Mar. 23, 2017 in Northridge, California. The Waves won it 5-0.
The Waves have qualified for each of the four all-time NCAA Championships since 2016 and were AVCA National Champions in 2012 and 2014 before the NCAA began a championship in beach volleyball.
About Grand Canyon
The Lopes are ranked tenth nationally and have enjoyed a strong 9-4 season thus far. One of those wins came back on Feb. 26 over CMU during GCU's Canyon Classic, which was the opening event of the season for both teams.
They have won three matches against nationally-ranked teams and all four of their losses have been against nationally-ranked foes.
The Lopes have won all three previous meetings, including this year's encounter in Phoenix, with the Mavericks. All were decided by 5-0 margins.
About UC Davis
The Aggies enter the weekend with a 3-10 record after going 2-3 at last week's Big West Challenge in San Luis Obispo, California. Their two wins on that weekend came by 3-2 margins over CSU Bakersfield and CSUN, which had claimed a win over the Mavericks five days earlier. The Aggies also defeated Saint Mary's on Mar. 6 for their other win.
Paloma Bowman and Colleen McGuire lead the team in wins with four. They are 3-6 in the top flight and 1-3 at No. 2.
The Mavericks and Aggies, who began their program in 2019, have never previously met.
Up Next
After this weekend's trip, the majority of the Mavericks' players will play in next week's Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Indoor Volleyball Tournament. CMU, ranked second in the AVCA Division II Coaches' Poll, earned the right to host after completing a perfect 14-0 season on Monday with a victory over then No. 13 Colorado School of Mines. That victory allowed the Mavericks to win their first RMAC Regular Season title since sharing it with Mines in 2014.
Those Mavericks will then join the beach only players at the Apr. 16-18 AVCA Small College Beach Championships at Hickory Point Beach in Tavares, Florida. In 2019, the Mavericks finished fourth at that event. It was not held last spring due to the COVID pandemic.
