DURANGO, Colo.— Three double-double efforts were not enough for the Colorado Mesa University volleyball team in a tight 26-24, 25-23, 25-21 loss to the Fort Lewis College Skyhawks in a key Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tussle on Saturday afternoon here at the Whalen Gymnasium.
 
Both teams came into the match with 10-4 overall and 4-1 RMAC records as the Skyhawks now sit in a 3-way tie for second in the conference standings at 5-1 while the Mavericks slipped into a tie for fourth at 4-2 while seeing a 3-match winning streak halted.
 
FLC finished with a 52-38 edge in total kills, which proved to be the difference in the match that lasted one hour and 48 minutes despite going just three sets.
 
Outside hitter Sadie Scoville and setters Ashlyn Tafoya and Addie Swanson all recorded double-doubles to lead the Maverick as Scoville finished with 13 kills and 16 digs to lead the Mavs in both categories.  Tafoya added 19 assists and 15 digs while Swanson recorded 16 assists and 11 digs.
 
Emma Luce also added eight kills while hitting .259 while Aesha Alrashed was in on all four of CMU's blocks.
 
Cambria Freymuth led the Skyhawks with a 13-kill, 16-dig double-double of her own while Jordan DeJesus added 11 kills.  FLC libero Alyx Daugherty led all players with 22 digs.
 
As the final scoreline indicated, all three sets were close and featured 14 combined lead changes and were tied a combined 25 times.
 
The first set was tied at 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24 before Ella Butler put down back-to-back kills to allow the Skyhawks to take the early lead.
 
Scoville had recorded consecutive kills for the Mavs to go up 23-22 before a service error and another Butler kill put the Skyhawks in front 24-23.  Alrashed and Coco Barnett then negated the first set point before Butler took over.
 
The Skyhawks then built as much of a 4-point lead at 20-16 in the second set before the Mavs pulled back into a 23-23 tie on Scoville kill before Alina Nunez and DeJesus responded for FLC to win the frame.
 
The Skyhawks were also better in the second half of the third set, coming from 13-11 down to build a 20-17 lead.
 
The Mavericks would pull within 22-20 after a timeout but could get no closer as the Skyhawks won three of the final four points to pull out the win.
 
The Mavericks will look to bounce back at home next weekend, hosting Colorado Christian (9-7, 4-2 RMAC) on Friday at 6 p.m. before taking on RMAC-leading CSU Pueblo (12-4, 6-0 RMAC) next Saturday at 3 p.m.