GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University volleyball team will look to advance to the semifinals of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament for the fifth straight year when the second-seeded Mavericks open the tournament by hosting No. 7 seed Westminster University for the second straight Tuesday evening in the quarterfinal round.
 
First serve for the Mavs' match in Brownson Arena is at 7 p.m., as dictated by the RMAC.
 
The Mavericks are 22-4 overall and finished the regular season with a 12-2 RMAC mark after splitting their weekend trip to South Dakota.  Westminster also split the trip to South Dakota and will enter Brownson Arena with an 11-14 overall record.  They went 7-7 in RMAC play.
 
Follow the Tournament
 
The 8-team single-elimination tournament begins on Tuesday night at 7 o'clock with the top four seeds each hosting a quarterfinal match.  The highest remaining seed after the quarterfinal round will then host the remainder of the tournament, which includes two Friday semifinals and Saturday's championship match.
 
A complete bracket and other tournament information can be found on the tournament webpage - https://rmacsports.org/tournaments/?id=247
 
Tickets prices for each match are $15 for adults and $10 for kids (6-17), seniors (over 65) & military and can be purchased through that page.  CMU students will be admitted free with a valid ID.  The specific ticket link for CMU's Tuesday night match is https://fan.hudl.com/tickets/VGlja2V0ZWRFdmVudDY3MTFmYzA3OWE3NmJmM2VkOTlkMjViMA==

No season passes will be honored.
 
All of the matches will also be streamed on a pay-per-view basis through the RMAC Network.  Pricing options can be seen at https://rmacsports.org/sports/2024/10/31/GEN_1031242634.aspx.
 
Live statistics for Tuesday's match can be seen at: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=559517.
 
The tournament's online store can be found at: https://bsnteamsports.com/shop/goHEyjMZe2.
 
Last Times Out
 
The Mavericks split Friday and Saturday matinees in South Dakota, extending their winning streak to 14 with a dominant 3-set sweep at Black Hills State in Spearfish before seeing that streak come to an end in a hard-fought 5-set match at South Dakota Mines in Rapid City on Saturday.
 
The Mavs finished with a 46-16 advantage in Friday's 25-6, 25-16, 25-13 sweep over the Yellow Jackets as Sydney Leffler put down a match-high 15 kills on .346 hitting while Sierra Hunta and Nicole Martin combined for 22 more kills as both set new career-highs for hitting percentage with .700+ marks.
 
On Saturday, Leffler led all players with 17 kills while setter Sabrina VanDeList tallied 41 assists and a season-high 17 digs to record her 50th career double-double.  Libero Allison Waller also had a season-high 26 digs while Sierra Hunt was credited with a career-high eight block solos.
 
Tourney Time
 
The Mavericks will be playing in their 13^th consecutive RMAC Tournament, having qualified in all but one (2011) of the 20 seasons with Head Coach Dave Fleming running the program.  The Mavericks have won the RMAC Tournament twice under Fleming (2014, 2018) and are 18-16 in it under Fleming, who began his tenure at CMU in 2005.
 
The Mavs also have a winning 11-7 record in the quarterfinal round under Fleming.
 
The Mavs have won their quarterfinal match in each of the last four RMAC Tournaments, defeating UCCS in the spring of 2021 before taking out Colorado Christian in each of the last three years.
 
The Mavs are 9-2 against the rest of the tournament field this season.
 
The Mavs have advanced to the semifinals in each of the last four and five of the last five seasons but have fallen in the semifinal round of each of the last four RMAC Tournaments.
 
The Griffins lost at top-seeded MSU Denver in the quarterfinal round of last year's RMAC Tournament in their debut appearance.  They are 2-8 against the rest of the field this season, having claimed wins over Western Colorado and CSU Pueblo.
 
Regional Rankings
 
After being tabbed as one of the ten ranked teams in the initial set of NCAA Division II South Central Regional rankings that were announced in alphabetical order the previous week (Nov. 60, the Mavericks learned that they were ranked fourth in last week's rankings (Nov. 13), the first that were released in actual rank order.
 
The Mavs are one of three RMAC teams in the latest rankings with MSU Denver and Colorado Christian checking in at the No. 2 and 8 spots, respectively.  The other seven spots are occupied by Lone Star Conference teams, including No. 1 West Texas A&M and No. 3 Angelo State.
 
Those regional rankings, which will again be updated this Wednesday, will eventually determine the selection and seedings during the NCAA Tournament selection show, which will air next Monday (Nov. 25) at 5:30 p.m. MST on NCAA.com.
 
The RMAC and LSC Tournament Champions will receive automatic bids while the other six spots and the one through eight seeding will be filled based on the final regional rankings, which are determined by these eight factors:

• Division II in-region winning percentage
• Division II winning percentage
• Division II strength of schedule (opponents' average winning percentage and opponents' opponents' average winning percentage)
• Division II head-to-head competition
• Results versus Division II common opponents.
• In-region Rating Percentage Index (RPI)
• Kevin Pauga Index (KPI)
• Late-season performance (last 10 matches)

CMU is looking strong for a fourth consecutive and 12th all-time NCAA Division II appearance.  As of Monday morning, the Mavericks currently have the fourth best Division II record (22-4) and  in-region record (18-3).  They also have the fourth best RPI (.594) and tenth best strength of schedule (.525) in the region.  They also have the fourth best KPI (.328), ranking 33^rd nationally in that category.
 
They are a combined 2-2 against the other nine ranked teams having split matches with MSU Denver and having lost to Angelo State while defeating Colorado Christian.
 
The Lone Star Conference Tournament will also be played this week.  West Texas A&M will host the entirety of that 8-team tournament in Canyon, Texas.  It begins on Thursday and will run through Saturday.
 
Looking to continue dominating the Griffins
 
The Mavericks will be looking to complete the season-sweep of the Griffins on Tuesday after claiming two earlier wins over them this season.
 
The Mavs won a 4-set RMAC Regional Pod match on Oct. 1 in Salt Lake City before sweeping the Griffins in their Senior night home victory last Tuesday.
 
The Mavs have won each of the last 19 matches against the Griffins since 2015 and are 21-1 all-time against them.  They are also a perfect 11-0 at home against them.
 
However, the teams have never met in the postseason as Westminster is making just their second appearance in the RMAC Tournament since joining the conference in 2015.

Double-Digit Win Streaks
 
Although the winning streak was snapped on Saturday, the Mavericks had won 14 straight matches leading into the regular season finale and have now posted six double-figure winning streaks under Head Coach Dave Fleming and in their Division II history, including one in all five of the Mavs' seasons this decade.
 
Their 14-match winning streak is the third longest in their Division II history, which dates back to 1992.
 
The Mavs also won 11 straight matches in 2023, starting the year 11-0 and won 12 straight matches from Sept. 24-Nov. 1 in 2022.
 
They also won 10 straight from Oct. 2-Nov. 5 during the 2021 fall season and started the 2021 spring season with a 15-match winning streak before finishing that COVID effected season with a 15-1 record.
 
The Mavs' longest winning streak in program history is 20 matches, which came in the 2014 season, when CMU went 29-4 while winning the RMAC Tournament and reaching the NCAA South Central Regional Final.
 
Bouncing Back
 
The Mavericks have been able to bounce back from each of their three previous losses this season, a trend they hope to continue on Tuesday.  They have swept the match following each of their previous losses this season.
 
20 & Counting
 
The Mavericks have now reached and surpassed the 20-win mark for the fourth straight season and for the ninth time under 20^th year Head Coach Dave Fleming.  The Mavs went 24-5 in 2023, 22-7 in 2022 and 21-7 in 2021.
 
Shot at 5K & 5 times

Maverick setter Sabrina VanDeList has a solid chance at reaching the 5,000 career assist mark during the post-season.  She will enter the RMAC Tournament with 4,918 career assists after recording 41 in each of the two weekend matches in South Dakota.  She is now just 82 assists shy of the 5,000 milestone.

VanDeList, the Mavs' all-time record holder for both assists and career service aces (182) leads the RMAC by 87 assists with 1,102 this season and has now surpassed the 1,100 mark in each of the past four seasons.   On Tuesday, VanDeList became the first Maverick to ever surpass the 1,000 mark in four different seasons.
 
A strong candidate to repeat as the RMAC Setter of the Year, VanDeList also comfortably leads the RMAC with her 11.98 per set average, which is the best average of her career.  Colorado Christian's Izzy Jones is second in the RMAC with a 10.91 per set average while Regis' Reagan Hickey is second behind VanDeList in total assists with 1,015.
 
VanDeList is already the program's first 4-time First Team All-RMAC selection and is likely to earn a fifth honor when this years' all-conference awards are announced on Thursday. 
 
No RMAC player has ever won five such honors.  VanDeList is using her fifth season of collegiate eligibility this fall after taking advantage of the NCAA's blanket COVID waiver.  She was the RMAC's Freshman of the Year in the spring of 2021, when she helped the Mavs win the conference title with a 15-1 overall record during the abbreviated and delayed spring season.
 
Kill title fight
 
Maverick senior outside hitter Sydney Leffler finished the regular season atop the RMAC statistics for both kills per set (4.08) and total points per set (4.70).  She recorded a match-leading 17 kills in Saturday's match against South Dakota Mines, slightly out-dueling Hardrocker senior opposite hitter Alessandra Meoni, who had 16 in Saturday's match.
 
However, Meoni leads the RMAC in total kills with 399 and is averaging 4.07 per set.  She and the Hardrockers played in 98 sets this season, six more than Leffler and the Mavs.  Meoni also has 452 ½ total points to her credit, 20 more than Leffler.  Meoni is averaging 4.62 per set to rank second behind Leffler in the average category.
 
Leffler led all four categories in 2023 and was named as the RMAC Player of the Year last season.

She has been in double figures for kills in 24 of the the Mavericks' 26 matches this season while totalling nine in the other two.
 
Active Leader
 
Leffler is also the current leader amongst active RMAC players and ranks 14^th amongst all active NCAA Division II players with her career total of 1,484 kills, fourth highest in CMU history.
 
Regis' Halle Theis (1,248), MSU Denver's Riley Anderson (1,232) and Adams State's Anna Huggins (1,067) and Cindy Garcia (1,026) are the only other current RMAC players with 1,000 or more career kills.  Garcia joined that club over the weekend.
 
The Veteran Court boss
 
Now in his 20^th year in charge of the Maverick program, Head Coach Dave Fleming is the longest-serving and winningest active head coach in the RMAC, racking up 389 overall career wins and a .681 winning percentage (389-182) in his tenure. 
 
He and his Maverick squads have fared even better in conference play, as Fleming now has an impressive .733 winning percentage (258-94) when coaching conference matches.
 
Fleming recently claimed his 250^th career RMAC win at home against CSU Pueblo.
 
He is just one of six RMAC Coaches to have 300 or more overall wins while coaching in the league.
 
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 19 of his 20 previous seasons and have now reached 20 wins nine times, including in each of the last four 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.
 
Quick Starters
 
Although the Mavericks saw their overall winning streak snapped on Saturday, they did continue another winning streak as they have won the first set in all 26 of their matches this season.

CMU has gone on to sweep 14 matches this year and have won seven other times in four sets.  They have lost the second, third and fourth sets after taking the lead in in their three overall losses and lost the third and the fourth sets before pulling out a 5-set win over CSU Pueblo on Oct. 11.
 
They lost the second, third and fifth set on Saturday at South Dakota Mines after winning the fourth.
 
Home Sweet Home
 
The Mavericks have consistently taken advantage of their home and supportive crowd in Brownson Arena, something they continued this season.  The Mavs have won nine straight home matches and are 11-1 at home this season.  The Mavs 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 with a win on Tuesday.
 
The Mavs were 13-1 at home last year and went 8-1 in 2022.  After last weekend, the Mavericks are now 64-7 (.901) since the start of 2018 at home.  The Mavs are also 100-15 (.870) in their last 115 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 13 seasons since and including 2012, going 115-24 (.827) since the start of 2012.
 
In the polls
 
The Mavericks remained in the No. 14 spot of last week's American Volleyball Coaches Association/TARAFLEX NCAA Division II Coaches' Poll, which was released last Monday afternoon.  The No. 14 ranking is the highest of the season for the Mavs.
 
A new poll will be released later today.
 
CMU has now been ranked amongst the nation's top 25 in 38  consecutive polls since the first regular season poll of the 2022 campaign.  They had hovered between No. 15-18 in the first nine editions of the poll this season, including the preseason poll, prior to moving up two spots to 14^th after their win over former No. 1 MSU Denver on Nov. 2.
 
MSU Denver slid to fourth after that loss and then dropped to fifth in last week's poll.
 
About the Griffins
 
The Griffins finished the regular season with an 11-14 overall record and went 7-7 in RMAC play to earn the No. 7 seed for the RMAC Tournament thanks to an earlier conference win over Western Colorado, which also went 7-7.
 
The Griffins have posted a 2-4 record in the month of November and are making their second straight RMAC Tournament appearance under third-year head coach Sue Delaney after missing out of the RMAC Tournament in all eight of their first eight years as conference members.
 
They lost at CMU last Tuesday and were also swept at South Dakota Mines on Friday before ending the regular season on a high note with a 3-set sweep at Black Hills State to book post-season qualification.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Claire Cook leads the squad with 282 kills (3.07/set) and has been in double figures during eight of the Griffins' last 12 matches, recording her six best kill totals of her career in that stretch.  She is also hitting a solid .268 and hit. 438 with nine kills in the first match against the Mavericks this season.  However, she managed just seven kills on .077 hitting in last week's match.

Cook ranks 15^th in the RMAC with her kill per set average.
 
Junior Breegan Huntsman, who had a double-double with a team-leading 11 kills (10 digs) in the Oct. 1 loss to CMU, is second with 244 kills (2.62/set) while junior middle hitter Mailei Myers is third on the team with 180 kills (1.94/set) while hitting .334.  She also has a team-leading 41 service aces (0.44/set), recording 11 in three matches last week alone, moving up to third place in the RMAC statistics.  She also ranks seventh in the conference for attack percentage.
 
Leila Cornejo, who has 482 assists (5.24/set) and Josie Gerritsen, who has 399 (4.34/set) split time in the setting position.
 
Libero Alanna Lee has tallied 390 digs (4.19/set) to rank seventh in the conference.  She led the Griffins with 14 digs in the first match against the Mavericks and tallied 17 in last week's match.
 
As a team, the Griffins rank second in the conference for service aces per set (1.83).  They have had nine service aces in seven sets against the Mavericks this season (1.29).
 
Up Next
 
Should the Mavericks win on Tuesday, they would advance to the RMAC Tournament semifinals for the fifth straight year and would play the winner of the South Dakota Mines/Colorado Christian quarterfinal, the third and sixth seeds, respectively, at a yet to be determined time on Friday.
 
If top-seeded MSU Denver wins over No. 8 seed Western Colorado on Tuesday, the Roadrunners would host the remainder of the RMAC Tournament and would play the winner of the quarterfinal match between No. 4 seed Regis and No. 5 seed CSU Pueblo in Friday's other semifinal.
 
CMU would earn hosting rights with a Tuesday night win combined with a Western Colorado upset over MSU Denver.  The Mavericks last hosted the RMAC Tournament in the Spring of 2021.
 
MSU Denver has hosted the semifinals and championship match in each of the last three seasons.