GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— Sydney Leffler and Erin Curl combined for 23 kills while outside hitter Maddi Foutz came off the bench to provide a much-needed spark as the Colorado Mesa University volleyball team shook off a slow start before cruising to a 3-set, 26-24, 25-17, 25-17 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference victory over visiting UCCS on Friday night in Brownson Arena.
 
Leffler recorded seven of her match-high 13 kills in the opening set and finished the night hitting .417 from her outside hitter position.  Curl tallied ten kills while Foutz finished with seven thunderous kills, including a key smash on a Mountain Lion set point in the first set before Tye Wedhorn put down back-to-back kills to give the Mavs the early lead.
 
The nation's 20^th-ranked Mavs overcame an 18-13 deficit in that first set and were down 13-10 in the second before going to win 15 of the final 19 points of the second.  Curl then put down five kills and hit .571 in the third as the Mavs cruised to the overall victory.
 
Now 14-4 overall and 9-2 in RMAC play, the Mavs finished Friday's match hitting .202 while holding the Mountain Lions to a .136 clip.  Kerstin Layman was a large part of that as she finished with 18 digs and three aces.
 
Wedhorn also had five blocks and the same number of kills.
 
Setter Sabrina VanDeList had 28 assists, eight digs, two blocks and an ace.
 
UCCS' Julia Geiger had nine kills and hit .500 while Nicole Medlin had eight kills on .438 hitting for the Mountain Lions, who fell to 8-11 overall and to 3-8 in the RMAC.
 
The Mavs trailed by as many as six (16-10) in the first set but used 3-0 and 5-0 and runs to the frame at 18.
 
The Mavs then went on to take a 23-21 lead before a 3-0 UCCS run put the Mountain Lions on the precipice of the first set.  However, the Mavs answered with their own 3-0 spurt to take the set.
 
The Mavs then trailed in the second by 13-10 and 15-12 margins before a 4-0 run that featured two Jordan Woods aces gave the Mavs a 16-15 lead.  Hannah Ammerman and Foutz then traded kills before Savannah Spitzer and VanDeList served during a 9-1 set-ending run.
 
In the third set, the Mavs were able to get out to a 10-5 lead and were able to extend it to 17-10 on two consecutive Layman aces.
 
The teams then traded mini 2-0 runs for the rest of the match.
 
CMU will remain at home on Saturday for a key RMAC clash against CSU Pueblo, which claimed a 4-set win over Westminster in Salt Lake City, Utah.  The ThunderWolves are 16-3 overall and tied with the Mavs for fourth place in the RMAC standings.  CSU Pueblo is also receiving votes in the latest AVCA Division II Coaches' Poll.