Grand Junction, Colo. – Home sweet home! After being on the road for back-to-back weekends, the Colorado Mesa beach volleyball will play the host this weekend for a series of games. They welcome University of Utah, Salt Lake Community College and Trinidad State Junior College to the CMU Beach Courts for some action on the sand Friday and Saturday (Mar. 11-12).
The schedule for the weekend is as follows:
Colorado Mesa Tournament Schedule
Mar. 11 (Fri.) | Colorado Mesa vs. Salt Lake Community College | 10 a.m.
Mar. 11 (Fri.) | Univ. of Utah vs. Trinidad State JC | 12 p.m.
Mar. 11 (Fri.) | Exhibition Sets | 1 p.m.
Mar. 11 (Fri.) | Colorado Mesa vs. Univ. of Utah | 2 p.m.
Mar. 11 (Fri.) | Salt Lake CC vs. Trinidad State JC | 4 p.m.
Mar. 11 (Fri.) | Exhibition Sets | 5 p.m.
Mar. 12 (Sat.) | Salt Lake CC vs. Trinidad State JC | 10 a.m.
Mar. 12 (Sat.) | Colorado Mesa vs. Trinidad State JC | 11 a.m.
Mar. 12 (Sat.) | Univ. of Utah vs. Salt Lake CC | 1 p.m.
Mar. 12 (Sat) | Colorado Mesa vs. Univ. of Utah | 3 p.m.
Last Time Out
Out in Arizona for their second weekend of the season, the Mavericks held their own against Division I opponents, nearly knocking off Arizona State and picking up a thrilling 3-2 win over Santa Clara.
Their other two matchups, Hawaii and University of Arizona, went the way of the opponents both by 5-0 decisions.
Opening the weekend against the Sundevils of Arizona State, the Mavs took three of the five pairs to a deciding set. At the No. 2 spot, the dynamic duo of
Holly Schmidt and
Macie Lachemann captured their fifth straight win, claiming the team's lone point of the day in a three-set battle.
The BeachBows of ninth-ranked Hawaii swept all five courts in straight sets, wrapping up the duals for day one.
In the exhibition sets,
Paige Gwaltney partnered with
Rianne Brown, claiming their matchup against Univ. of Arizona's Maki Bispham and Canon Bongard in three-sets.
Ashton Reese and
Sydney Leffler also forced a deciding set in their exhibition, but were called off before completion.
Day two started with a thriller that came down to none other than the twos pair. The Broncos of Santa Clara snagged the first point of the dual. Short lived, the Mavericks took over with wins at the No. 5 and No. 4 positions to go up 2-1 in the dual. A third set decision went the way of the Broncos, tying it at two apiece.
Closing out the weekend against hosts, the Wildcats bested the Mavericks 5-0. The pair of
Jessa Megenhardt and
Jada Hall highlighted that contest, taking Jasmine Safar and Dana Parker to three.
TWO Hot
Out to the best start by a pair in program history, Schmidt and Lachemann have proven themselves against some top opponents. The pair collected five straight wins to start the season, two of those coming against Division I pairs, Stephen F. Austin and Arizona State.
All eyes were on them against Santa Clara. Forcing in a third set, they came away with their sixth win of the season and clinched the 3-2 dual win for the Mavericks.
Scouting the Opponents
Mar. 11 (Fri.) | vs. Salt Lake Community College (0-0) | 10 a.m.
The Bruins of Salt Lake Community College will open their 2022 campaign this weekend. In their inaugural competition, they captured one point against University of Utah, the lone contest of a very abbreviated 2021 season.
They sport a full freshman roster, and will look to build on their program in its third season of existence.
Mar. 11 (Fri.) | vs. University of Utah (2-2) | 2 p.m.
Mar. 12 (Sat.) | vs. University of Utah | 3 p.m.
A familiar opponent, the Utes out of the University of Utah will return to Grand Junction for the second straight season. They come into the weekend having played four matches and riding a two-game win streak.
The Utes closed out a weekend in San Jose with victories over San Jose State (3-2) and Ottawa (Ariz.), 4-1. The day prior they fell to Santa Clara, who the Mavs outlasted last weekend, and Concordia Irvine, who CMU will meet up with in a couple weeks during their trip out west.
The No. 4 pair of Sommer Daniel and Lauren Sayre were undefeated throughout the first weekend, Sonja Wessel and Keira Sheehan collecting a 3-0 record on the fives court.
Last season when the Utes visited, the Mavericks claimed both match ups.
Mar. 12 (Sat.) | vs. Trinidad State JC (0-0) | 11 a.m.
The Trojans out of Trinidad State Junior College will be the other fellow in state competition for the weekend. They opened play last weekend in Pueblo.
Similar to SLCC, the Trojans roster is comprised of first years.
