GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa University beach volleyball squad will make its second trip of the young season to Arizona and will play three matches over two days in the Phoenix Metropolitan area.
The Mavericks, who went 1-3 against NCAA Division I institutions during the University of Arizona's Cactus Classic, to open the season in Tucson will open this weekend against fellow Division II foe Wayne State (Neb.) at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning. The Mavericks will then remain at Kiwanis Park in Tempe to face South Mountain Community College at 11 a.m. before wrapping up the weekend on Sunday morning at 9 a.m. Arizona time (10 a.m. Mountain Daylight) against NAIA Park University-Gilbert at Bell Bank Park in Mesa.
Follow the Mavs
Daily recaps will be posted on
www.cmumavericks.com and the CMU Beach Volleyball Instagram Account is a great follow. -
https://www.instagram.com/cmu_beachvolleyball/
Sunday's match is tentatively set to be live streamed by Park University Gilbert on the Bucs' YouTube account -
https://www.youtube.com/c/parkbuccaneers
Last Time Out
As mentioned above, the Mavericks got their official spring season underway at the Cactus Classic on Feb. 24-25 in Tucson, Arizona. Although the Mavericks won only one dual, they put up quite a fight against some of the nation's top teams.
The Mavericks blanked Division I UTEP, 5-0, on the opening day of the tournament after falling 4-1 to Boise State, receiving votes in the AVCA Collegiate Beach Poll at the time.
On the second day, the Mavericks fell 4-1 to Arizona State, also receiving votes in the poll, before pushing the host and 18
th-ranked Arizona Wildcats to the limit, before falling 3-2. Three of the five matches in that dual went to three sets. Three of the five matches in the dual against the Sun Devils also went to three sets.
The Mavericks' No. 4 pair of
Sabrina VanDeList and
Tye Wedhorn led the way as they went 3-1 throughout the weekend. The No. 1 duo of
Macie Lachemann and Holy Schmidt went 2-2 as did
Hahni Johnson and
Savannah Spitzer on Court 2.
Complete Recaps of each day of action can be seen at these links
Friday, Feb. 24 (vs. Boise State/UTEP)
Saturday, Feb. 25 (vs. Arizona State/at Arizona)
The Mavs' season statistics can be found here.
Record Watch
Now assistant coach
Ara Norwood, nicknamed "Bob", completed her playing career in 2022 with 36 wins, the most of any Maverick in program history. However, several current Mavericks are rapidly approaching her school-record and could pass her this month or season.
Entering the weekend, here is a look at the top-5 winningest Mavericks in program history.
36-
Ara Norwood; 2018-22
30-
Holly Schmidt; 2019-23
28-
Macie Lachemann; 2019-23
26-
Tye Wedhorn; 2021-23
26-
Sabrina VanDeList; 2021-23
Busy month
The Mavericks have a busy stretch ahead and are now scheduled to play 12 matches this month, including the three this week.
The Mavs have added a home doubleheader with Trinidad State Junior College next Thursday (Mar. 16) and will then head out on their annual Spring Break trip to southern California, where they are slated to play five matches in a span of three days between Mar. 21-23.
The Mavs will then return to Arizona to close out the month and begin April playing at the Wildcat Spring Challenge in Tucson on Mar. 31-Apr. 1.
Scouting the Opponents
Wayne State
The Wildcats entered Friday with a 4-2 record and are due to play two more matches before facing the Mavericks on Saturday morning.
They opened their week in Arizona on Tuesday, defeating Park University Gilbert, 4-1 and Benedictine University at Mesa, 5-0. They swept all five matches in straight sets over the Redhawks but were forced to three sets in two of their four victories over the Buccaneers earlier in the day. They then won two matches on Thursday, defeating Mesa Community College and South Mountain Community College by 4-1 and 5-0 scores to run their winning streak to four.
Earlier in the season, they fell 5-0 at Nebraska and by a 4-1 count to Park University (Mo.) in Lincoln.
They play South Mountain and Ottawa University (Ariz.) again on Friday.
Last year's Wildcat squad went 14-6 overall and finished 3-3 at the AVCA Small College Beach Championships in Tavares, Florida. One of their losses came to the eventual title-winning Mavericks during pool play.
That match-up is the only previous meeting between the Mavericks and Wildcats.
South Mountain
The Cougars are now 4-6 after falling to Wayne State and Mesa Community College on Thursday. They will also play Wayne and Ottawa on Friday before facing the Mavs on Saturday morning.
Entering the week, Nichole Gary and Rylee Pitts had the team's best records at 5-3. They had won five straight matches on Court 3. Individual results from the Cougars' duals are not yet posted.
CMU has never previously faced the Cougars.
Park University Gilbert
The Buccaneers dropped to 2-2 with a 4-1 loss to Wayne State on Tuesday and will play Benedictine University at Mesa and Westcliff University on Friday and the University of Saint Katherine on Saturday before turning their attention to Sunday's match with the Mavericks.
Earlier in the season, they had come out on both sides of 3-2 decisions, losing to Arizona Christian on Feb. 15 before bouncing back to knock off William Carey College a day later. They also defeated William Carey, 4-1 on Feb. 15.
No. 4 duo Jasmine Urban and Brittlee Harper claimed the Bucs' lone win on Tuesday and area perfect 4-0 on Courts 3 and 4 this season.
The Bucs are receiving votes in the latest NAIA Women's Beach Volleyball Coaches' Top 10 Poll.
Up Next
The Mavericks will return home to face Trinidad State Junior College in a recently scheduled home doubleheader. Action will begin at noon on the CMU Beach Courts.
