GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— Winners of five their last six matches, all of which have come against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference foes, the Colorado Mesa University volleyball team will look to continue rolling when they hit the road for a pair of weekend matinees against their fellow Western slope rivals.
 
The Mavericks, 9-4 overall and 3-1 in the RMAC standings, will play in Gunnison at Western Colorado (1-13, 0-4 RMAC) on Friday at 3 p.m. before heading to Durango to face Fort Lewis (10-4, 4-1 RMAC) on Saturday at 4 p.m.
 
Both matches can be seen with a subscription to the RMAC Network (more information below).
 
Live statistics for the match can also be found at the links above.
 
Last Time Out
 
The Mavericks wrapped up a 4-match, 8-day homestand last Friday night, claiming a 4-set win over Westminster in Brownson Arena in a RMAC Regional Pod match-up that did not count in the conference standings.  The Mavs dominated the first set, 25-12 but lost the second, 25-22.  They then pulled out the third, 26-24 before rallying from a 21-15 deficit in the fourth, going on a 10-1 run to close out the match with a 25-22 fourth set victory.
 
Emma Luce led the Maverick attack with 15 kills to match her season and career-high while Henley Madsen chipped in 11.
 
Defensively, Addison Wright recorded 25 digs while Macy Wood was involved in six of the Mavs' ten blocks.  Sadie Scoville also registered 16 digs.
 
For a complete match recap and highlights package, click here.
 
Leading the League
 
As of Wednesday, the Mavericks are leading the RMAC in both hitting percentage and opponent hitting percentage.
 
The Mavs have recorded a team attack percentage of .259 through their first 13 matches and 50 sets, sitting just ahead of UCCS (.258) and MSU Denver (.257).  The Mavs rank 16th nationally in that statistic.
 
Defensively, the Mavericks have held their opponents to a combined .157 attack percentage to top the league.  Fort Lewis (.159), the Colorado School of Mines (.162) and UCCS (.163) are just behind.
 
Aces all around
 
The Mavericks recorded 12 service aces in last Friday's win over Westminster, their highest single-match total since Oct. 7, 2022, when the Mavs also had a dozen in a road win at Black Hills State.
 
The total is also tied for tenth most in a single match in CMU history.
 
Seven different Mavericks recorded aces in Friday's win, led by freshman libero Addison Wright, who had a career-high four.  Wright also set a career-high with 25 digs in the match.
 
Polling Streak ends
 
Despite winning both of their matches last week, the Mavericks run of being ranked amongst the nation's top 25 teams came to an end on Monday.  The Mavericks had been ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association/TARAFLEX NCAA Division II Poll for 46 straight polls dating back to the Week No. 1 poll in 2022.
 
The Mavericks were ranked 25^th last week but are now the top team in the "others receiving votes" category of teams.  CMU received 97 points but dropped out of the top 25 along with No. 22 Angelo State, which is now 28^th in the poll with 54 points. 
 
Only one RMAC and two South Central Region teams now appear in the top 25 with MSU Denver now sitting 12^th after falling from eighth in the previous poll.  The Roadrunners split two RMAC Regional pod weekend matches and are now 10-3 overall. One of those losses was to CMU.
 
West Texas A&M remained in the No. 14 spot of the poll as the only Lone Star Conference team in the poll.
 
RMAC rivals Mines and UCCS are also receiving votes and both have 20 points in this week's poll.  Two other Maverick opponents this season in Cal Poly Pomona (31) and Cal State LA (18) are also in the receiving votes category.
 
CMU also played Simon Fraser, now ranked seventh, earlier this season.
 
CMU is 2-4 against other teams in the top 25 or receiving votes this season and is perfect 7-0 against teams outside of the polling.

100 and counting
 
New Maverick Head Coach Austin Albers picked up his 100^th NCAA win on Sept. 26 when the Mavericks beat then fifth-ranked MSU Denver in four sets.
 
Albers was hired as the Mavs' head coach in February after spending the previous six years at CSU Pueblo, where he posted a 93-61 (.604) overall record with the ThunderWolves.  At CSU Pueblo, he led the Pack to the RMAC Tournament in all six of his seasons in the Steel City while also guiding them to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2021 and 2022.
 
Including this year's start, Albers now has a 102-65 (.611) career record at the NCAA level and has won 247 collegiate matches in total.
 
Previously, Albers was the head coach at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he had a 145-57 career record before leaving as the program's all-time win percentage leader (.718).  He was inducted in to the school's athletics hall of fame in August alongside his 2017 and 2018 teams and two of his individual players.

Albers is just the third CMU Head Volleyball Coach in the last 43 years and replaces Dave Fleming, who departed for the same role at Division I North Texas in December, 2024 after 20 years in charge of the Maverick program.  Rusty Crick had served as the Mavs' coach for the previous 23 seasons from 1982-2004.

Mountaineer Dominance
 
The Mavericks will look for their 25^th straight victory over Western Colorado on Friday night.  The Mountaineers last win in the rivalry came in 2012.
 
CMU is 59-12 against the Mountaineers in the Division II era (1992-Present) and has a 25-6 lead in the series when facing them in Gunnison.  Western's last home win over the Mountaineers came in 2006.
 
The Mavs have dropped just one set in the last five matches over the past three seasons and have now recorded 3-0 sweeps in 11 of the last 16 match-ups.
 
Clipping the Skyhawks
 
The Mavericks have also won the last eight match-ups against Fort Lewis, winning seven of them in 3-set sweeps.  That has allowed CMU to take a 47-12 lead in the Division II era series.  The Mavs are 21-8 against the Skyhawks in Durango and have won in their last three visits in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
 
Home Sweet Home
 
The Mavericks have consistently taken advantage of their home and supportive crowd in Brownson Arena, something they did during their recent homestand, when they won three out of four matches.  Although the Mavs saw an 11-match homecourt winning streak snapped on Sept. 27 by UCCS, they have posted an impressive 68-8 home record and .895 winning percentage since the start of 2018, losing no more than one home match in each of the past seven seasons.
 
The Mavs won their last ten home matches of 2024 and were 12-1 at home last season.
 
The Mavs were 13-1 at home in 2023 and went 8-1 in 2022. 
 
The Mavs also went 9-1 at home in the fall of 2021.  The Mavs also went 6-1 at home during the 2021 spring season while winning the RMAC title.  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 an RMAC Tournament Championship and NCAA South Central Regional final appearance and have had winning records at home in each of the last 14 seasons since and including 2012, going 119-25 (.826) since the start of 2012.
 
They are 104-16 (.867) in their last 120 home matches since 2014.
 
About the Opponents
 
Western Colorado (Friday – 3 p.m.)
 
The Mountaineers are currently 1-14 and have a 0-4 RMAC record.  They have lost their last eight matches, winning just three sets in that streak.
 
One of those losses came to the Mavs, last Tuesday in Brownson Arena, when the Mountaineers were out-hit, .417 to .023 in a 25-11, 25-11, 25-13 defeat.
 
Liv Marshall and Olive Rolseth have led the Mountaineers' offensive attack with 122 (2.65/set) and 118 (2.57/set) kills, respectively.  Kyra Kidd has also chipped in 75 (1.63/set) and leads the team with 30 blocks, one more than Breanna Nohava's total.

Northeastern Oklahoma A&M transfer Galatia Andrew has 140 digs (3.04/set).
 
Junior setter Kaira Willits, a transfer from Western Iowa Tech Community College, has started 12 of the 14 matches and has 180 assists (4.09/set) although she has split the duties with Anuhea Ka'alele, who has 175 in her freshman season, good for a 3.80 per set average.
 
Five different Mountaineers have between 10-12 service aces

Fort Lewis (Saturday - 4 p.m.)
 
The Skyhawks currently sit 10-4 overall and are tied for second place in the RMAC standings at 4-1 after pulling out a 5-set road win over Westminster on Tuesday night.  They had lost both of their RMAC Regional Pod matches on the road at Adams State and New Mexico Highlands last weekend in four sets although neither of those matches counted for the RMAC standings.
 
They had gotten off to a 7-1 start and were 6-1 in non-conference play under first year head coach Justin Wong, who had been an assistant at George Washington and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi before taking over the Skyhawk program in March.
 
Cambria Freymuth, Ella Butler and Jordan DeJesus have led the Skyhawk attack and are all in triple figures for kills with 152, 123 and 117, respectively.  Butler is also fifth in the RMAC with her .344 attack percentage.  She and Ellie Ames are also tied for the team lead with 26 blocks although the Skyhawks rank 14^th out of the 15 teams in the RMAC in that category.
 
Conversely, the Skyhawks lead the RMAC in digs, averaging 18.21 per set, helping them rank second in the RMAC behind CMU for opponent hitting percentage.
 
Four different players have already eclipsed the century mark.  Emery Pomroy leads the group with 191 (4.44/set) and ranks third in the conference with her per set average over 43 sets.  Alyx Daugherty has also contributed 156 digs in 37 sets played (4.22/set).
 
RMAC Network News
 
The RMAC Network has moved to a pay-pre-view model for the upcoming 2025-26 season.  This season, all RMAC athletic events broadcast by its 15 full-member institutions and associate members will only be available for purchase via a single-game pass or a monthly or annual subscription. Revenue generated by the network will be redistributed to the league's membership to enhance their programs.
 
RMAC fans can purchase monthly and annual subscriptions that will provide them with access to all regular-season, championship, and archived broadcasts on the RMAC Network. A monthly subscription costs $25, and an annual subscription costs $130. Single-game passes are available for $10, which grants access to a single game for 24 hours.
 
Additionally, a discounted annual subscription price will be available to students, faculty, and staff of each member institution throughout the year. Purchasing options and pricing for individual RMAC Championships will be announced closer to each event.
 
Colorado Mesa turns 100
 
The CMU Century Celebration stands as the cornerstone of Colorado Mesa University's year-long centennial celebration. This ambitious initiative unites our community in honoring a rich heritage while boldly envisioning the next hundred years of academic excellence.

Led by the Steering Committee and six specialized sub-committees, we're orchestrating a transformative experience that will resonate through generations. Each committee brings unique expertise to create an unforgettable commemoration of our past, present and future.
 
To learn more about Colorado Mesa's 100-year celebration, visit cmucentury.com.
 
Up Next
 
The Mavericks will return home to face the two teams currently at or near the top RMAC standings.  CMU will take on Colorado Christian, currently 9-6 overall and 4-1 in the RMAC, on Friday, Oct. 17 in their Dig Pink match to raise awareness and funds for the fight against breast cancer.  The Mavs will then take on Austin Albers' former CSU Pueblo (11-4) team on Saturday, Oct. 18 in Brownson Arena.  The ThunderWolves beat CCU on Tuesday and lead the RMAC standings at 5-0.