GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— Winners of three straight for the third separate time this season, the now nation's 16^th-ranked Colorado Mesa University Mavericks will resume Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play when they host CSU Pueblo and Adams State in a pair of key weekend volleyball matches in Brownson Arena.
 
The Mavericks, 11-3 overall, are 3-1 in the RMAC standings and ranked 16^th in the latest national poll.  They will take on the RMAC co-leading CSU Pueblo ThunderWolves (10-4, 4-0 RMAC) on Friday at 6 p.m. before facing the Adams State Grizzlies (4-11, 1-3 RMAC) on Saturday at 4 p.m.
 
Tickets for both matches are available at www.cmumavericks.com/tickets and both matches will be streamed on the RMAC Network.  Live statistics links can also be found above.
 
Last Time Out
 
The Mavericks claimed a 4-set win over Western Colorado on Saturday night to begin their 3-match homestand.  Sierra Hunt and Sydney Leffler both finished with 19 kills while setter Sabrina VanDeList recorded a double-double with a season-high 57 assists and 10 digs.  Leffler also had a second straight double-double, matching  a season and career-high with 14 digs.  Libero Allison Waller also recorded 21 digs as the Mavericks defeated the Mountaineers for the 23^rd straight time since 2012.
 
A complete recap of the match can be found here.
 
Veteran Floor Boss goes for 250
 
Maverick Head Coach Dave Fleming is now in his 20^th season in charge of the Maverick program.
Fleming is the longest-serving and winningest active head coach in the RMAC, racking up 378 career wins and a .676 winning percentage (378-181) in his tenure.  He has also won 249 RMAC matches and has an impressive .728 winning percentage (249-93) within the conference and is one of just six RMAC Coaches to have 300 or more overall wins while coaching in the league.
 
He will go for his 250^th RMAC win this weekend.
 
Fleming has been named as the RMAC Coach of the Year four times and has guided the program to four total RMAC regular season and tournament titles and to three other RMAC West Division crowns.  They have had winning campaigns in 18 of his 19 previous seasons and have reached 20 wins eight times, including in each of the last three seasons after going 15-1 to win the RMAC title in the spring of 2021, an abbreviated season.
 
The Mavs also have reached the NCAA Tournament ten times under Fleming, including in each of the last three.
 
RMAC Leaders
 
As a team, the Mavericks lead the RMAC in both assists and kills and also have the individual leaders in both categories as well. 
 
Sabrina VanDeList has recorded 588 assists and is averaging 12.25 per set, a mark that ranks her fourth amongst the national statistical leaders.  In the RMAC, VanDeList has 26 more assists than Colorado Christian's Izzy Jones, who is averaging 11.24 assists per set, more than one fewer than VanDeList.  Jones has played in 50 sets, two more than VanDeList and the Mavs.
 
As a team, the Mavericks have 674 kills (14.04/set) to pace the RMAC in both in terms of total assists and per set average.  They rank third in the country with their average.
 
In kills, the Mavericks have put down 725 and also rank third in the country with their 15.10 per set average,  mark that is exactly one kill higher than MSU Denver, which is second in the RMAC.
 
Individually, Sydney Leffler continues to lead the RMAC with her 4.13 kill per set average.  She has 198 total kills to trail only South Dakota Mines' Alessandra Meoni, who has put down 213 in 53 sets, five more than Leffler and the Mavs have played.
 
Sierra Hunt has also moved up to sixth in the RMAC for kills per set at 3.52.  She has 169 total kills to her credit.
 
Leffler also leads the conference in total points per set (4.85) while Hunt is eighth at 3.86.  Nicole Martin also ranks 13^th at 3.67.
 
Quick Starters
 
The Mavericks have won the first set in all 14 of their matches this season.  They have held their opponents to 19 or fewer points in nine of those opening sets.  The most lop-sided first set win came by a 25-11 margin over Western Colorado in the first meeting with the Mountaineers back on Sept. 20.
 
CMU has gone on to sweep eight matches this year and have won three other times in four sets.  They have lost the second, third and fourth sets after taking the lead in in their three overall losses.
 
The Mavs have yet to play a 5-set match this season.
 
Efficient in the Middle
 
Both of the Mavericks' starting middles rank amongst the RMAC's top six in attack percentage this season. Stormi Tadlock is hitting .381 to rank third in the conference while Nicole Martin stands sixth with her .338 mark.
 
Right side hitter Sierra Hunt is also ranked 11^th in the league at .312.
 
Home Sweet Home
 
The Mavericks have consistently taken advantage of their home and supportive crowd in Brownson Arena.  The Mavs are 6-1 at home thus far in 2024 and have not lost more than a single home match in each of the previous six seasons, a streak they will try to extend this year.
 
The Mavs were 13-1 at home last and went 8-1 in 2022.  After last weekend, the Mavericks are now 59-7 (.894) since the start of 2018 at home.  The Mavs are also 95-15 (.864) in their last 110 home matches since the start of 2014.
 
The Mavs also went 9-1 at home in 2021, with their only loss coming to MSU Denver, which has been the only conference team to beat CMU at home in the past three seasons.
 
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 seasons since and including 2012, going 110-24 (.821) since the start of 2012.
 
In the polls
 
After sitting 18^th in the last two editions, the Mavericks moved up two spots to 16^th in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association/TARAFLEX NCAA Division II Coaches' Poll, which was released on Monday afternoon. 
 
CMU has now been ranked amongst the nation's top 25 in 33 consecutive polls since early in the 2022 season.  They have hovered between No. 15-18 in all six editions of the poll this season, including the preseason poll.
 
Tampa (10-1) once again the No. 1 spot in this week's poll and is receiving 43 of the 47 possible first place votes while MSU Denver (13-1) remained and is continuing to received one first place vote. 
 
Undefeated Nebraska-Kearney and Ferris State sit third and fourth after Ferris switched spots with St. Cloud State as the first of three straight Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference teams in the poll ahead of Wayne State and Southwest Minnesota State.
 
Cal Poly Pomona is still receiving three first place votes and sists eighth in the poll while West Texas A&M continues to sit ninth ahead of Chaminade.
 
Concordia-St. Paul, a team the Mavericks defeated on the opening weekend of the season, is now ranked 13^th while Angelo State (13-2), a team that beat the Mavericks a week later is still 14th.
 
About the Opponents
 
CSU Pueblo (Friday – 6 p.m.)
 
The ThunderWolves have worked their way into the top tie of RMAC teams in recent years and nothing has changed in 2024 as they will enter Friday's match with a 10-4 overall record.  They had a 6-match winning streak snapped at home against Regis on Friday although that match was during the RMAC Regional Pod and did not count in the conference standings.
 
They are tied with MSU Denver for first place in the conference standings at 4-0.
 
They have qualified for the RMAC Tournament in all five previous years under now sixth-year coach Austin Albers and made the NCAA Tournament in both 2021 and 2022.
 
Junior outside hitter Sadie Scoville leads Albers' squad with 174 kills (3.63/set) and is tied with setter Hallie Hewlett for the team-lead in service aces with 20.  Scoville also leads the team with 129 digs (2.69/set).
 
Hewlett, who has 253 assists and Sabrina King, who has 145, have split time at the setter position and have made seven starts a piece.
 
Kaitlyn Hall and Rayliene Joens are also over 100 kills on the season with Hall tallying 109 to average 2.37 per set.  Joens has 105 to her credit and is averaging 2.50.
 
The ThunderWolves rank amongst the RMAC's top six in nearly every statistical category and are second in the conference for service aces with 94 (1.96/set).  They have also been blocked just 65 times throughout the season.
 
Adams State (Saturday- 4 p.m.)
 
The Grizzlies will enter a Friday night match at Westminster with a 4-11 overall record and are 1-3 in the conference standings.  They have four 5-set matches in their last six outings since going 0-4 in Brownson Arena during the Holiday Inn Express Maverick Fall Classic.  They did not play CMU during that tournament.
 
The Grizzlies are 1-3 in those 5-setters.
 
Anna Huggins is the only player to have started all 15 matches for new head coach Garcia Ramser and has put down 189 kills, good for a 3.26 per set average that ranks her 12^th in the RMAC.  Cindy Garcia, who was injured during the Mavs' tournament, has 108 kills to her credit and is averaging 3.38 per set.  She has missed five matches but did record a season-high 19 kills in her last outing on Friday against Fort Lewis and ranks tenth in the RMAC for kills per set.
 
Katie Bauer, who has 87 kills (1.50/set) is also provided some offensive firepower hitting .312 to rank 10^th in the conference for attack percentage.  She also leads the Grizzlies with 38 blocks.
 
Ramser has used four setters throughout the season, including Remi Vargas, who has registered 220 assists (4.58/set).  Ellie Miller has 126 (4.06/set) as well.
 
Sierra Leone Sanchez leads the Grizzlies in digs with 183 (3.16/set) to sit just ahead of Keely-Shae Sapiga, who is averaging 3.02 per set.  Sapiga also leads the team with 13 aces while Huggins is right behind with 12.
 
Series Histories
 
The Mavericks hold a 38-15 series lead over CSU Pueblo in the NCAA Division II era and have won the last four match-ups.  Three of those wins have come in four sets while the other was in five.  Only one of the last seven meetings have been decided in straight sets.
 
The Mavs have won the last eight home meetings against the ThunderWolves, who last won over CMU in Brownson Arena back in 2011.
 
Fleming is 23-6 against the ThunderWolves in his 19 previous seasons and is 4-1 against Austin Albers.
 
The Mavs had had similar success against Adams State, winning 40 of 56 bouts in the Division II era (1992-Present) era.  The Mavs have won the last eight match-ups overall, and are 20-7 against the Grizzlies at home, where they have won the last five match-ups.  Adams State last won on the road in 2012. 
 
Maverick teams are 23-7 against Adams State under Fleming.
 
Up Next
 
The Mavericks will hit the road next weekend, playing at UCCS next Friday (Oct. 18) at Regis the following day (Oct. 19).  They will then play at Chadron State on Tuesday, Oct. 22 before playing a single home match the following Saturday (Oct. 26) against Colorado Christian.