GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— After two back-to-back tri-duals on Tuesday and Wednesday in southern California, the Colorado Mesa University beach volleyball team is now preparing for a weekend stint in Tucson competing in this weekend's Arizona Invitational.
The Mavericks, 11-5 overall, went 1-3 in California and will open up the 4-team round-robin tournament on Friday morning, playing UTEP at 9 a.m. Arizona Time (10 a.m. MDT). They will then take on the host Wildcats at 3 p.m. Arizona Time (4 p.m. Mountain) that afternoon.
CMU wraps up the weekend and their 7-match Spring Break trip on Saturday morning at 9 a.m. Arizona Time (10 a.m. MDT) against Central Arkansas.
Follow the Mavs
Live results from all three duals
can be accessed here.
A recap of each day's action will also be posted on www.cmumavericks.com.
For inside content, fans are also encouraged to follow the team on their Instragam account (
@cmu_beachvb).
Last Times Out
The Mavericks, who had entered the week riding a 6-match winning streak, went 1-3 in their stay in California, falling 5-0 to both No. 20 FIU and CSUN on Tuesday in Northridge before bouncing back for a 5-0 win over Cal State LA on Wednesday in Irivine. The Mavs then fell 4-1 to host Concordia University Irvine in the final match of Wenesday's tri-dual.
Recaps and full results of all four matches can be seen at the links below.
No. 3's Lead the Way
The No. 3 pair of
Barett Nolan and
Ania Swartzendruber led the Mavericks in California. They went 2-2 overall and won both of their matches on Wednesday in the Cal State LA/CUI Tri-Dual.
Nolan and Swartzendruber are now 12-4 on the season and have the team's second best mark, just behind the No. 2 duo of
Riley Daugherty &
Lizzy Hood, who are now 13-3.
Homecomings Past & Future
Wednesday's tri-dual was a homecoming of sorts for Nolan, who played at Irvine Valley College in Irvine for two years before joining the Maverick program for the 2023-24 academic year. She hials from Orange County and the city of Mission Viejo and graduated from Trabuco Hills High School.
Meanwhile, Swartzendruber will have a connection this weekend as she spent the 2023 fall semester in Tucson, playing indoor volleyball for the Arizona Wildcats before transferring to CMU and joining the beach program in the spring of 2024.
Third to ten
The Maverick No. 4 pair of
Jessica Passi and Taylor Scherrf became the third Maverick duo to reach double figures for wins this spring on Wednesday as they were victorious against Cal State LA. Passi and Scherff are now 10-6 on the season.
Coaching Staff
David Skaff, the only head coach in the Mavs' beach volleyball history, is in his tenth season in charge of the Maverick program. He is in his 18
th year overall as a CMU Coach, having served as a long-time assistant coach for the Mavs' indoor program before going full time to the beach program, starting in 2023.
Skaff has led the Mavericks to three straight top-3 finishes at the AVCA Small College Beach Championships, including a 2022 title.
His teams have combined for 87 wins, 64 of which have come in the last three years and the start of this year alone.
The program has also received the AVCA Team Academic Award seven times, including each of the last six.
Ara "Bob" Norwood also returns for her third season as the Mavs' assistant coach after a standout indoor and beach playing career with the Mavs.
Know Your Foes
UTEP (Friday – 9 a.m. Arizona Time/10 a.m. MDT)
The Miners are 8-6 on the season and went 2-2 last weekend at the Malibu Invite in California. They have gone 3-3 since falling to the Mavs back on Mar. 1.
They lead the Conference USA standings with a 2-0 record.
Arizona (Saturday – 3 p.m. Arizona Time/4 p.m. MDT)
The Wildcats are currently 8-6 on the season and went 3-1 last weekend at the Long Beach State Tournament, where they were able to beat Cal State Bakersfield, San Francisco and Tarleton State while falling to the ninth-ranked tournament hosts.
Adriana Nieves Papaelo and Katie Phillips have a 9-5 record and have split starts in the top flight, going 5-3 on Court 1. Brooke Blutreich and Kylee Fitzsimmons have also played in the top flight, going 0-6. However, they are 3-3 in the No. 2 position.
Ashlyn Zilliken and Madeline Walker are also tied for the team lead in wins and are 9-5. They have played at No. 3 throughout the season.
Central Arkansas (Saturday – 9 a.m. Arizona Time/10 a.m. MDT)
The Beach Bears will enter the weekend with an 8-8 overall record but have lost their last three after winning their previous five.
They went 1-3 at the Sugar Beach Slam in Youngsville, Louisiana, opening the weekend with a 3-2 win over New Orleans, before falling the Louisiana Monroe, Southeastern Louisiana and Tulane.
The Bears, who hail from Conway, had gone 4-0 on the previous weekend (Mar. 7-8) in a 3-team tournament over Austin Peay and Lindenwood.
Series Histories
The Mavs are a combined 3-9 all-time against their weekend opponents.
The Mavs are 3-1 in the all-time series with UTEP, a team they defeated 4-1 just three weeks ago on Mar. 1 in Kingsville, Texas. The Mavs have also faced the Miners three times in Tucson, winning 5-0 and 4-1 decisions in two separate 2023 tournaments before the Miners were able to claim a 3-2 win on Feb. 23, 2024 at Bear Down Beach.
The Mavs will be looking for their first ever win over Arizona and are currently 0-8 against the Wildcats. Seven of those matches have been played in Tucson, a regular stop on the Mavericks' journeys since 2016. The Mavs have played in Tucson every spring since 2018, but did not face the Wildcats last year.
The Wildcats have won six of the previous eight match-ups by 5-0 margins although the Mavericks nearly claimed a win in the first of two 2023 match-ups on Feb. 25, falling 3-2.
The Mavs have never faced Central Arkansas.
Up Next
The Mavs will be at home next weekend hosting Emmanuel (Ga.) and Trinidad State in a pair of tri-duals next Friday and Saturday (Mar. 28-29). The Mavericks will play both teams on both days in four total matches.
