GOLDEN, Colo.— The 17
th-ranked Colorado Mesa University Mavericks posted one of their most historic victories in program history, claiming a 4-set thriller over 9-time NCAA Division II National Champion and preseason No. 5 Concordia-St. Paul on Friday evening in Oredigger Volleyball Classic action in the Colorado School of Mines' Lockridge Arena.
The Mavericks moved to 2-0 on the day and the young season, getting out to a 2-0 overall lead with relatively comfortable first and second set wins before dropping the third frame. The Mavs then outlasted the Golden Bears, 28-26 in the fourth to claim their first win over a top-10 ranked team since Mar. 4, 2021 during a pandemic abbreviated and delayed spring season when only part of the country played.
The victory was also the first over the Golden Bears in three all-time meetings and was the first over a top-10 ranked team in a regular fall season in a full decade after defeating three top-10 foes in the opening two weeks of what ended up as a 29-4 2014 season that saw CMU advance to the Sweet 16 of the national tournament.
The last meeting with CSP was on the second of those weekend when then No. 1 and 7-time defending national champion Golden Bears won in four sets during the Colorado Premier Challenge in Denver.
Maverick all-America outside hitter
Sydney Leffler recorded a match-high 20 kills in Friday's victory, twice as many as any other player on the court in the 25-16, 25-18, 18-25, 28-26 win.
Right side hitter
Sierra Hunt and middle blocker
Nicole Martin also finished the match with ten kills apiece while setter
Sabrina VanDeList recorded 40 assists and 11 digs, good for her first double-double of the young season and the 40th of her illustrious career. She also had four service aces, leading the Mavericks to a 9-6 overall advantage in that category.
One of those aces came on match point as Hunt clinched the Maverick victory.
CMU had a 24-21 lead in the critical fourth set before four straight Golden Bear points put the Minnesotans in front, 25-24.
VanDeList then set Martin for a kill to tie the set at 25 before CSP's Makenna Nold and Hunt exchanged kills to move the score to 26-26.
A Golden Bear hitting error then set up Hunt for the match-clincher.
Leffler was particularly strong in the fourth set, recording seven kills with just one error on ten swings, good for a .600 hitting percentage in that frame. The Mavs hit .250 as a team in that set while Leffler hit .256 overall after committing four of her nine hitting errors in the third set set, two of which came via CSP blocks.
The Golden Bears had seven blocks in that set and 15 overall. The Mavs recorded seven, including three Leffler solos, and also relied heavily on a solid-back row effort, led by a match-high 19 digs from 2023 RMAC Defensive Player of the Year
Allison Waller, the Mavs' libero.
Claudia Stahlke finished with nine block assists and put down 10 kills to lead the Golden Bears while Makenna Nold also tallied 10 kills on .562 hitting in the losing cause.
2-time First Team All-America setter Teagan Starkey, the national leader in assists per set last year, finished with 36, but was out-dueled by VanDeList, who was third in the national statistics en-route to RMAC Setter of the Year and AVCA Honorable Mention All-America honors last year.
CMU hit .238 as a team, putting down 57 kills, 11 more than the Golden Bears, who hit .202. CMU also had a substantial 54-40 advantage in total digs.
The Mavs had swept Gannon, receiving votes in the national poll, earlier on Friday and will play two more matches on Saturday taking on Michigan Tech and Concord (W. Va.) at Noon and 5 p.m., respectively.
They will then return home to host next weekend's Holiday Inn Express Maverick Fall Classic, which begins on Thursday.
