GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— Still ranked 11^th nationally, the Colorado Mesa University volleyball team will be on the road for the third straight weekend when they play a single Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference match on what will be their longest road trip of the season at New Mexico Highlands University on Friday evening in Las Vegas, New Mexico.
 
First serve in the Cowgirls' John A. Wilson Complex is slated for 6 p.m.   A live stream of the match can be seen on the RMAC Network and live statistics will be accessible at the link above.
 
Friday's match will pit the Mavericks (20-3, 9-2 RMAC) against the Cowgirls (3-21, 1-9 RMAC).
 
Last Time Out
 
The Mavericks took a break from official RMAC matches last weekend, but still played their biggest RMAC rivals in an RMAC Power Pod in Denver.  CMU split their matches against their fellow nationally-ranked squads, sweeping No. 12 Regis on Friday before falling in four sets to No. 7 MSU Denver on Saturday.  Regis had swept MSU Denver to open the pod on Thursday as all three teams went 1-1.
 
The matches did not count for the RMAC standings but each gave a boost on their NCAA Division II Tournament selection and seeding resumes.

Full recaps of both matches can be found below:
 
Friday vs. #12 Regis - W, 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-23)
Saturday at #7 MSU Denver - L, 1-3; (26-24, 19-25, 24-26, 14-25) 
 
Three straight 20's and a program history lesson
 
The Mavericks claimed their 20^th win of the season by beating Regis on Friday.  They have now won 20 or more matches in three consecutive seasons after going 15-1 during the COVID delayed and abbreviated 2021 spring campaign.
 
The Mavs have now reached 20 wins for the eighth time in 19 total seasons under Head Coach Dave Fleming and have now recorded three consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time under his direction.
 
The last time that CMU had such a streak was way back in 1994-96, when the then Mesa State College Mavericks went 31-14 in 1994, 25-11 in 1995 and 26-9 in 1996.
 
The Mavs' other 20-win seasons under Fleming  were 2005 (23-7), 2010 (20-9), 2013 (21-8), 2014 (29-4), 2018 (24-7), 2021 (21-7) and 2022 (22-7).
 
The Mavs' current 20-3 record is equal to the best 23-match start in program history, joining the 2014 team that had a 20-match winning streak that took the Mavs into the final of the NCAA Division II South Central Regional.  That team finished 29-4.
 
The 2021 spring season squad went 15-1 to lead the program's history in terms of winning percentage at .938.  The overall CMU record for wins in a season is 42, set by the 1986 squad that went 42-9 as members of the NAIA.  Teams regularly played substantially more matches in that era.
 
Last year's team was 19-4 through 23 matches.  The 2021 team was also 18-5 as were the 2005 and 2013 squads.
 
In the polls
 
After their 1-1 weekend, the Mavs retained their No. 11 position in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association/TARAFLEX NCAA Division II poll (Week No. 9), released on Monday.  The Mavs have now been ranked 11^th in four different weeks this season, holding down that spot on Week No. 3 and 4.
 
The Mavs were ranked a season-best ninth two weeks ago and were tenth in the preceding two polls (Weeks 5 & 6).  The Mavs had been ranked 21^st in the preseason poll, 14^th in the Week No. 1 poll and 12^th in the Week No. 2 poll.  They were also ranked in each of the last 12 of the regular season's weekly polls in 2022 before finishing 21^st in the final post-season poll.  CMU was not ranked in the 2022 preseason poll but did reach as high as No. 15 in the Week #10 poll on Oct. 31 of last year.   Including the 2022 post-season and 2023 pre-season polls, the Mavs have now been ranked amongst the nation's top 25 for 23 straight polls.
 
This week's poll had no changes in the top six with Wayne State (Neb.) continuing to sit ahead of undefeated Tampa (22-0) and Missouri-St. Louis (24-0).  Concordia St. Paul, West Texas A&M and Southwest Minnesota State are ranked fourth through sixth, respectively, while Cal State San Berardino is now ranked seventh after MSU Denver slipped a spot to eighth.
 
St. Cloud State and Nebraska-Kearney also remained steady in the No. 9 and 10 spots, respectively, while Regis remained 12^th, just behind the Mavs.
 
No other NCAA Division II South Central teams are in the top 25 although Angelo State and Texas A&M-Kingsville are also receiving votes.
 
Regional "Rankings"
 
The Mavericks were included in the list of ten teams "under consideration" for NCAA Tournament selection from the South Central Region, according to the NCAA's regional rankings, which were released for the first time this season on Wednesday.  In the first set of rankings, the teams are released alphabetically rather than in rank order.
 
An actual 1-10 ordered regional ranking will be released on the next two Wednesdays before the final NCAA Tournament selection and seedings are announced via a selection show at 5:30 p.m. MST on Monday, Nov. 20.
 
The Mavs were one of three RMAC teams in the listing joining MSU Denver and Regis.  The Lone Star Conference has the other seven listed teams in Angelo State, Arkansas-Fort Smith, Dallas Baptist, Texas A&M-Kingsville, Texas Woman's, UT Tyler and West Texas A&M.
 
Although purely unofficial, InkBlot Sports (Website: https://inkblotsports.com/) and Twitter/X (https://twitter.com/InkblotSports) had CMU seeded third in his latest bracketology behind West Texas A&M and MSU Denver, and ahead of No. 4 Regis and four other LSC teams.  That website does a deep dive in the various mathematical calculations and criteria used by the Division II Volleyball Committee and Regional Advisory Committees, who do the actual and official rankings.
 
A total of eight teams will be selected for the NCAA Division II Tournament from the South Central Region, which is made up of 15 RMAC and 17 Lone Star Conference volleyball playing institutions.  The conference tournament champions for each league will receive automatic bids even if they are not amongst the top eight of the regional rankings, thus possibly bumping another team.
 
Standings Check
 
As of Wednesday, the Mavericks currently sit in third place in the RMAC standings at 9-2, just a half match behind Regis (9-1) and percentage points behind MSU Denver, which is currently 8-1 in conference play.  Regis beat UCCS on Tuesday and will have two matches this weekend, including a Saturday night home tilt against MSU Denver, which still has five matches to play, four of which are at home.
 
In turn, the Mavs are a half-match ahead of CSU Pueblo (8-2) and are 1 ½ ahead of fifth place South Dakota Mines, currently in fifth at 7-3, a team the Mavs will face on final day of the regular season.
 
Meanwhile, the sixth through 11^th place teams are separated by just one match with 5-5, 5-6, 4-5 and 4-6 records and very much in an intense battle for the last of the eight total spots in the RMAC Tournament.
 
The top four seeds will host quarterfinal round matches on Tuesday, Nov. 14 with the highest remaining seed hosting the rest of the tournament on Friday, Nov. 17 and Saturday, Nov. 18.
 
The Mavs have clinched a tournament spot. 
 
A more detailed look at various playoff scenarios will be included in next week's preview.
 
Serving Past a legend
 
Maverick redshirt junior setter Sabrina VanDeList recorded two assists in Saturday's match against MSU Denver, the 136^th and 137^th of her career.  In the process, she moved past RMAC and CMU Hall of Famer Amy Miller and into fourth place on the Mavs' all-time charts.  Miller had 136 in her 1991-94 career. 
 
Drew Choules holds the program record of 153 and is followed by Robin Barnett (148) and Pam Glenn (143).
 
VanDeList is tied for the team led with 23 service aces this season after leading the RMAC last year with 53, the most since Choules set the single-season record of 69 in 2005.

VanDeList also stands third in program history for career assists (3,606) entering this weekend.

Three & Five-Timers
 
Maverick standouts Sydney Leffler and Savannah Spitzer each claimed RMAC Player of the Week honors for the third time this season and the fifth time in their respective careers on Monday.  Leffler was named as the RMAC's Offensive Player of the Week after also earning the honors on Sept. 4 and Oct. 9.  She also had one such honor in 2021 and another in 2022.
 
Meanwhile, Spitzer was named as the RMAC's Defensive Player of the Week after earning back-to-back offensive accolades on Sept. 11 and Sept. 18.  She was also a 2-time offensive honoree in the spring of 2021.

Double-double streak
 
Sabrina VanDeList has recorded double-doubles in each of the Mavs' last three matches, her second such streak of the season. 
 
If she can record another on Friday at NMHU, she would extend her double-double streak to four for the first time in her career and become the first Maverick since Maddi Foutz to accomplish the feat.  Foutz had six double-doubles in the spring of 2021, including four straight in the Mavs' second, third, fourth and fifth matches of the RMAC title-winning campaign en-route to RMAC Player of the Year honors.
 
VanDeList has also had double-doubles in five of the last six and seven of the Mavs' last nine matches.  She now has 11 double-doubles this season, her highest total in four seasons with the Mavs.  VanDeList now has 35 career double-doubles, ten of which were in the fall of 2021.  She had eight last year and six in the spring of 2021.
 
Her 11 double-doubles this season are the most of any Maverick since 2017 when outside hitter MacKenzie Edwards had 14 while setter Samantha Ritter had a dozen.
 
RMAC Leaders & National Rankings
 
The Mavs have three individuals leading the RMAC in four combined statistical categories.
 
Setter Sabrina VanDeList has recorded 966 assists this season and leads the RMAC by 99 in total assists, over Mines freshman Presley Powell, who has 867.  VanDeList is averaging 11.78 assists per set, which ranks her third nationally and well ahead of Powell, who is at 10.97 per set.  VanDeList also ranks 16^th nationally in total assists.
 
Meanwhile, Sydney Leffler paces the RMAC by a wide margin with 368 kills and 396 total points.  MSU Denver's Riley Anderson is second with 281 kills and 311 total points.  Leffler also leads the conference with her 4.49 kill and 4.83 point per set averages.  She ranks tenth nationally in kills per set and 15^th in points per set.  She is 14^th in total kills.  The NCAA does not do official statistical rankings for total points.
 
The Mavs' other RMAC statistical leader is Savannah Spitzer, who leads the league with her .389 attack percentage, the 18^th best mark nationally.
 
Team rankings
 
The Mavs' offensive attack is also ranked highly as a team in the national statistics.  They lead the RMAC and are ranked third nationally in both kills (14.79) and assists (13.93) per set.  They also lead the conference in total kills (1,213) and assists (1,142).
 
CMU is also ranked 14^th in the country for hitting percentage at .266, the second best mark in the conference and only slightly behind Regis, which is at .272.
 
The RMAC's top boss
 
Now in his 19^th season as the Mavs' head Coach, Dave Fleming leads all active RMAC coaches with 363 career victories.  Fleming is 363-176 in his time at CMU, good for a .673 winning percentage and reached the 350-career win milestone on Sept. 8 after the Mavs win over Sioux Falls.
 
The Mavs have now recorded 20 or more wins eight times under Fleming, who guided the Mavs to a 22-7 record while qualifying for their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance.  They had gone 21-7 in the fall of 2021 after the Mavs won the 2021 spring season RMAC title while going 15-1 overall during the COVID related delayed and abbreviated schedule.
 
The success is nothing new for Fleming, who has now led the Mavericks to nine NCAA Division II National Tournament berths, two Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular season titles (2014, 2021-Spring), two RMAC Tournament crowns (2014, 2018) and three RMAC West Division crowns (2005, 2009, 2010).

The Mavericks have had winning campaigns in all but one of his seasons and are a combined 243-92 (.725) in conference play under Fleming.
 
Home Sweet Home
 
After going 3-0 during the recent home-stand, the Mavs are now 10-1 at home this year.  That Brownson Arena success is nothing new for the Mavs, who have not lost more than a single home match in each of the previous five seasons, going 8-1 last year and 50-6 (.893) since the start of 2018.  The Mavs are also 86-14 (.860) in their last 100 home matches since the start of 2014.
 
CMU's last three home losses have all come against MSU Denver, who defeated the Mavs on Sept. 23 of last season in a tight match that saw all three sets decided by the minimum 2-point margin and again on Sept 22 of this season.  The Mavs also went 9-1 at home in 2021, with their only loss coming to MSU Denver.
 
The Mavs also went 6-1 at home during the 2021 spring season.  In the fall of 2019, the Mavs went 8-1 after going 9-1 in Brownson Arena during the 2018 campaign.
  
The Mavs were also 9-1 at home in 2015 before posting 6-3 home-court records in both 2016 and 2017.  CMU was also an impressive 15-1 in 2014 en-route to a RMAC Tournament Championship and NCAA South Central Regional final appearance and have had winning records at home in each of the last 11 completed seasons since and including 2012, going 101-23 (.815) since the start of 2012.
 
The Mavs have just two regular season home matches remaining on the 2023 schedule and will play Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines on Nov. 10 and 11, respectively.  The Mavs are also in good position to likely host at least a RMAC Tournament quarterfinal game on Tuesday, Nov. 14, a right the top four teams in the final RMAC standings will earn.
 
About the Cowgirls
 
The Cowgirls are 3-21 overall and 1-9 in RMAC play but had semi-recent back-to-back wins over Western New Mexico and Black Hills State on Oct. 18 and 20, respectively.  Those wins snapped an 18-match losing streak after the Cowgirls won their season opener.
 
The Cowgirls have now lost three straight falling at Adams State and against Chadron State in an RMAC Power Pod in Alamosa, Colorado last week after dropping a 4-set decision to Suth Dakota Mines on Oct. 21.  They are now 2-7 on the year at home with the aforementioned wins over Western New Mexico and Black Hills State.
 
Freshman outside hitter Jaylee Gonzales leads the team with 182 kills while fellow outside hitter Angelina Burton, a junior, is third with 166, but paces the team with her 2.55 per set average.  Aziza Morris, another freshman, also has 171 while Seraiah Morgan, yet another freshman outside hitter, has 123 as the only other Cowgirl in triple figures.
 
Freshman setter Ashleigh Meyer has 308 assists to lead the team while sophomore libero/defensive specialist Abby Carlsen (205) and Megan Waghorn (185) have seen significant totals.  Waghorn has only played in 44 of the Cowgirls' 79 total sets and has not played since Oct. 7.
 
Carlsen also leads the team with 238 digs (3.01/set) to rank 15^th in the conference while Sophia Hendricks-Montes is second of five Cowgirls with in triple figures with 150 (2.83/set).
 
Jada Lawson has 41 blocks to lead the team.  She is also hitting .202 to led the regular hitters in that category although the Cowgirls rank last out of 15 RMAC teams with a .125 percentage, while allowing opponents to hit .257 with the most porous defense in the conference.
 
Eight of the 14 players on the Head Coach Tom Duke's squad are freshman and none are seniors.  He has four juniors and two sophomores.  All but three of the 14 hail from New Mexico.
 
Series History
 
The Mavs have dominated the rivalry with New Mexico Highlands, especially as of late.  The Mavericks have won 14 straight match-ups since 2011 and lead the Division II era (1992-Present) series by a 44-14 margin.  They have won 21 of the last 22 match-ups.
 
The last three matches have all been 3-0 Maverick sweeps as the Cowgirls have managed to reach 20 points in just two of the last nine sets, while three others have been decided by 25-11 margins.
 
CMU is 18-9 against the Cowgirls in Las Vegas during the Division II era have been victorious in their last seven trips since NMHU last claimed a 3-1 home victory on Sept. 30, 2011, their last in the rivalry.
 
Maverick Head Coach Dave Fleming is 25-2 against the Cowgirls and is 7-1 in coaching battles with NMHU's Tom Duke, who coached the Cowgirls from 2003-07 before returning to lead the program in 2020.
 
Up Next
 
The Mavs will return home to close out the regular season against the RMAC's two South Dakota schools on Nov. 10 and 11.  On Friday, Nov. 10, the Mavs will host Black Hills State at 7 p.m.  The Mavs then close out the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 2 p.m. against South Dakota Mines.