GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University Maverick volleyball squad hit .538, their second highest single-match effort in program history, in a dominant and quick 3-set (25-12, 25-14, 25-9) sweep over visiting New Mexico Highlands University on Sunday afternoon here in Brownson Arena.
 
The nation's 14^th-ranked Mavericks improved to 20-3 overall and to 10-1 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play and extended their overall winning streak to 12 while defeating the Cowgirls for the 16^th consecutive time since 2011.  They also recorded their eighth straight home-court win and clinched the right to host a RMAC Tournament quarterfinal on Tuesday, Nov. 19 as one of the conference's four highest seeds.
 
The Mavs have also reached the 20-win mark for the fourth straight season after winning the RMAC title during an abbreviated 15-1 2021 spring season.
 
CMU, which has three matches remaining in the regular season is in second place in the conference standings. 
 
NMHU, already eliminated from RMAC Tournament contention fell to 5-19 overall and to 2-10 in conference play.
 
The Mavericks needed just 61 minutes to win the match.
 
The Mavericks' hitting percentage was just six points off the program record of .544 in a 2022 season-opening win over Northern State.
 
Maverick redshirt junior Sierra Hunt led the efficient Mavs with 13 kills on .632 hitting from her right side hitter position while senior outside hitter Sydney Leffler chipped in with a double-double.  Leffler had 11 kills on .625 hitting and recorded ten digs.
 
Fellow outside hitter Karsen Breeding recorded eight kills on .571 hitting while sophomore middle Nicole Martin had eight kills on .462 hitting.
 
Maverick setter Sabrina VanDeList orchestrated the explosive attack with 40 assists and added in seven digs.  Libero Allson Waller recorded a match-high 14 digs and added six assists.
 
Angelina Burton led the Cowgirls, who hit .109 as a team, with nine kills.
 
 
The Mavericks hit .444 and .462 in the opening two sets and were an even more efficient in the third, hitting .720 without a single hitting error.  They were guilty of just six throughout the entire afternoon.
 
The Cowgirls were guilty of 14 hitting errors as the Mavs recorded seven blocks, while NMHU tallied three.
 
CMU also finished with a big 48-24 advantage in total kills and had an even wider 48-19 cushion in total digs.  They also had five different players record aces while committing just two service errors.  MHU Had two aces and six service errors. 
 
The Mavericks, who will play four matches in a span of seven days, will host Westminster University (10-12, 6-5 RMAC) on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. for their Senior Night match before wrapping up the regular season with road affairs in South Dakota on Friday and Saturday.