GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University volleyball team will look to take advantage of their home court and return to winning ways as they will play their final two home matches of the regular season this weekend against Chadron State College and Regis University.
 
The Mavericks, 12-9 overall and 6-4 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play, will look to end a 4-match slide when they host the Chadron State Eagles (5-17, 1-9 RMAC) on Friday at 6 p.m. in their Parent's Night match.
 
The Mavs will then honor three seniors prior to Saturday's 5 p.m. match against Regis (3-19, 2-8 RMAC).
 
Tickets are available for both matches at www.cmumavericks.com/tickets.
 
Both can be also be seen with a subscription to the RMAC Network (more information below). 
 
Live statistics can be accessed through the link above.
 
Last Times Out
 
The Mavericks were in Denver last weekend playing in an RMAC Power Pod at MSU Denver's Auraria Event Center.  The Mavs dropped both matches in three sets falling to the nation's 12^th-ranked and host Roadrunners on Thursday and South Dakota Mines on Friday.
 
Against the Roadrunners, Henley Madsen and Sadie Scoville both put down eight kills while Aesha Alrashed had seven while adding a match-high six blocks.  Alrashed and Madsen both hit .353 while Emma Luce hit .500 with five kills.
 
Luce and Scoville then both put down eight kills in Friday's match against South Dakota Mines.  Scoville also added 11 digs while Alrashed had five blocks.  Setter Ashlyn Tafoya had 28 assists, six kills, five digs and hit .625.
 
Mavroon Madness
 
The first 500 fans at Friday's match will receive a free Mavroon Madness t-shirt sponsored by Canvas Credit Union.  The shirt was designed by Callie Smith, a CMU graphic design student who won the design contest.

Check it out here on the Mavs' Instrgram account.
 
Fans are encouraged to wear their Mavroon colors  with pride while cheering on the Mavs.
 
Looking for 100

Aesha Alrashed recorded 11 blocks last weekend, averaging 1.83 per set.  In the process, she raised her total to 84 and her per set average to 1.06, a mark that puts her tied for third in the RMAC.
 
She is now just 16 blocks away from becoming the first Maverick in seven years to reach triple figures in a the same season.  All-American Kasie Gilfert had a rally-scoring era school-record 123 in 2018, the same season that Camille Smith recorded 111.
 
If Alrashed is able to get to the milestone, she would become just the tenth different Maverick to do so in the rally-scoring era (2001-Present).
 
First to out
 
With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, the RMAC standings are extraordinarily tight and currently the Mavericks within three matches of a first place tie and also just two matches ahead of the current top eight cutoff for the RMAC Tournament, which begins in just two weeks on Tuesday, Nov. 18.
 
The Mavericks are at 6-4 and tied with Adams State for sixth place.  They are just one match ahead of Westminster and South Dakota Mines, which are currently tied for eighth in the RMAC standings at 5-5.
 
Conversely, the Mavs are just one match out of a fourth place tie, currently forged by the Colorado School of Mines and CSU Pueblo at 7-3.  Fort Lewis sits third at 8-2 while UCCS and MSU Denver currently lead the standings at 9-1 and are the only two teams to have clinched a spot in the RMAC Tournament.
 
It is mathematically possible that the Mavs finish anywhere between first and 13^th in the RMAC standings depending on how they and the rest of the conference do in the final two weeks and four matches of the campaign.
 
All four of the Mavs' remaining matches will come against teams below them in the conference standings.
 
Highlights of this weekend's conference schedule include third place Fort Lewis hosting both of the co-leaders in MSU Denver and UCCS, respectively.
 
Senior Spotlight
 
The Mavericks will honor three players in outside hitters Sadie Scoville and Charleston Tidwell and libero Allison Waller prior to Saturday's match against Regis, their last homer regular season home match of the year.
 
Scoville and Tidwell transferred into the program this year while Waller has played with the Mavs for each of the last four campaigns.
 
Scoville, who hails from Pleasant Grove, Utah, came from CSU Pueblo along with new Maverick Head Coach Austin Albers and leads the Mavs in kills (233), digs (228), service aces (20) and total points (274).  She also had 678 kills and 547 digs in 67 career matches over the past three seasons at CSU Pueblo, where she was a 3-time overall All-RMAC selection and a AVCA Honorable Mention All-American.
 
Tidwell hails from Colorado Springs and played at Division II Point Loma last season after spending four years at Division I Central Arkansas, where she was named to the Southland Conference All-Tournament Team in the spring of 2021.  Transferring in as a graduate student, Tidwell suffered a season-ending injury in the Mav's sixth match of the season on Sept. 12 but was averaging 2.41 kills and 2.24 digs per set prior to the injury.
 
Waller has been a standout defensive player for the Mavericks over the past four seasons, recording 1,163 digs in her 100 career matches with CMU to date.  She was named as the RMAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2023 and earned First Team All-RMAC and Second Team D2CCA All-South Central Region accolades that season.
 
She currently ranks eighth in the rally-scoring era (2001-Present) for digs at CMU and enters the weekend needing just 40 more digs to match former teammate Sabrina VanDeList for the No. 7 spot.
 
Home Sweet Home
 
The Mavericks have consistently taken advantage of their home and supportive crowd in Brownson Arena, something they will hope to continue this weekend.
 
The Mavs are 5-2 at home this season and have posted an impressive 70-9 home record and .886 winning percentage since the start of 2018, losing no more than one home match in each of the previous 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 121-26 (.823) since the start of 2012.
 
They are 106-17 (.862) in their last 123 home matches since 2014.
 
About the Chadron State Eagles
 
The Eagles are currently 5-17 overall and have a 1-9 RMAC record.  They have been eliminated from RMAC Tournament contention and will be looking for their first road win in nine tries against the Mavs.
 
They have lost nine of their last ten but came up with a 3-0 home win over Black Hills State last Thursday during the RMAC Power Pod that they hosted.
 
Sophomore Mataya Ward leads the team with 205 kills (3.31/set) and 224.5 total points (3.62/set).  She is also hitting a respectable .228 from her outside hitter position and ranks sixth in the RMAC for both kills and total points per set.
 
Middle hitter Kelly Kirkwood and outside hitter Gibson Beckler are right behind with 163 (2.26/set) and 150 (2.11/set) kills, respectively.
 
Senior middle Bella Adams leads the team with 38 blocks while freshman outside hitter Shelby Harding has 28 service aces (0.39/set) to rank third in the RMAC.

Setter Jillian Donovan has started 21 of the Eagles' 22 matches and has 640 assists (8.89/set) to stand fourth in the conference.
 
Junior libero Avery Lacy leads the team with 248 digs (3.49/set) while Beckler is also over 200 (215) with a 3.03 per set average.
 
About the Regis Rangers
 
The Rangers are struggling through their worst season in program history with a 3-19 overall record although they could still surpass their 2005 6-win team.  They have not finished below .500 since 2007 (11-17).
 
They have won two of their last three matches, claiming home wins over Black Hills State (Oct. 25) and Colorado Christian (Oct. 30) but are still in search of their first road win.

They are 2-8 in the RMAC.
 
Senior outside hitter Isabella Smith leads the team with 190 kills (2.68/set) while freshman and Grand Junction native Sabrina Landman is second with 132 (2.04/set).  Braiziah Dixon has also chipped in 124 kills from the middle and his hitting a team best .256, more than double the team's mark of .127.
 
Setter Bailey Nichols has 555 assists (7.12/set) and leads the team with 30 service aces (0.38/set).  She and Dixon are the only two Rangers to have started all 22 matches.
 
Defensively, Dixon also leads the team with 64 blocks (0.82/set) while Krissy Brei has 238 digs (3.05/set).
 
Series Histories
 
The Mavericks have dominated the series history with the Chadron State Eagles, winning each of the last 30 matches since 1995 to extend their series lead to 36-3 in the NCAA Division II era (1992-Present).  The Mavs are 19-0 at home against the Eagles in that span and had have won four straight, six out of the last eight and ten out of the last 13 in straight sets.
 
The series with Regis has been much more competitive although the Mavericks have won four out of the last five meetings to close the Rangers' Division II era lead to 26-21.  Each of the last four match-ups have been played in Denver either in regular season in RMAC Power Pod, RMAC Tournament or regular season play.
 
The Mavs have won each of the last four home match-ups since 2018.
 
RMAC Network News
 
The RMAC Network has moved to a pay-pre-view model for the 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 conclude the regular season with a trip to South Dakota, where they will face Black Hills State next Friday (Nov. 14) and South Dakota Mines on Saturday, Nov. 15.