GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— After playing their first nine matches over the past three weekends away from home, the Colorado Mesa University Maverick volleyball team will open a 4-match homestand with a pair of key weekend conference matches before hosting Western Colorado in a RMAC Regional Pod match on Tuesday.
 
The Mavericks, who are tied for 24^th in the latest AVCA/TARAFLEX NCAA Division II Poll and off to a 2-0 start in RMAC play,  will host their home opener on Friday at 6 p.m., when they take on No. 5 MSU Denver in a national ranking showdown.  They will then take on undefeated UCCS, off to its best start in program history, on Saturday at 3 p.m. before hosting Western Colorado on Tuesday night at 6 p.m.  That Tuesday match with the Mountaineers will not count in the RMAC standings and is part of the conference's regional pod week schedule.
 
Tickets for all of the matches can be purchased at www.cmumavericks.com/tickets.

For fans that cannot  watch in person, there will be live steams with a subscription to the RMAC Network (more information below).
 
Live statistics for all matches can also be found here.
 
Last Times Out
 
The Mavericks started off RMAC play with a pair of road wins, pulling out a 5-set thriller at Adams State last Friday before heading to Las Vegas, New Mexico to record a dominant 3-set sweep over the Cowgirls on Saturday night.
 
Each of the first four sets of Friday's match against the Grizzlies were decided by the minimum two points, including a pair of 27-25 decisions.  The final set went the Mavs' way, by a 15-12 margin.  The Mavs won the first two sets, 25-23 and 27-25 before the Grizzlies responded to take the third and fourth by the same scorelines.
 
Maverick senior outside hitter Sadie Scoville set new season-highs for both kills (19) and digs (18) in the victory while fellow outside hitters Karsen Breeding and Emma Luce also combined for 19 kills.
 
Setters Addie Swanson and Ashlyn Tafoya also registered double-doubles while middle blockers Aesha Alrashed and Macy Wood each recorded nine kills on .400 hitting as the Mavs finished with a .247 team attack percentage while beating the Grizzlies for the tenth straight time since 2016.
 
The Mavs continued to roll on Saturday at NMHU, posting a 25-17, 25-11, 25-19 win to extend their winning streak in the rivalry to 17 since 2011.
 
Scoville and freshman opposite Henley Madsen both recorded 11 kills in the victory.  Scoville hit .435 with just one error on 23 swings while Madsen finished with a .381 attack percentage on 21 attempts.
 
Full recaps of both matches can be found below.

• Friday, Sept. 19- at Adams State (W, 3-2)
• Saturday, Sept. 20- at New Mexico Highlands (W, 3-0)

Beach Bash in Brownson
 
Maverick fans are encouraged to wear beach attire to celebrate the home-opener against MSU Denver on Friday.
 
Scoville = Awards
 
Sadie Scoville picked up an award for the third straight weekend as she was named as the RMAC's Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after recording 30 kills and hitting a combined .314 in last week's 2-0 road sweep.
 
The CSU Pueblo transfer and Pleasant Grove, Utah native had also been named to the all-tournament team after both of CMU's early-season non-conference tournaments.
 
Scoville leads the Mavs in both kills (93) and digs (81) this season.  She also has a team-leading 13 service aces.
 
Triple Double-Double
 
The Mavericks had three separate players record double-doubles in Friday's win at Adams State, the first time they have done so since Mar. 17, 2021 against MSU Denver in a 2020-21 COVID spring season match.  FIve different Mavericks also had double-doubles earlier that spring against Northwest Nazarene.
 
As mentioned earlier, Sadie Scoville recorded 19 kills and 18 digs to lead the way. She now has three double-doubles this season.
 
Both Maverick setters were also able to post double-double numbers.  Redshirt freshman Addie Swanson set new season and career-highs with 36 assists and 11 digs and recorded her first career double-double.  Ashlyn Tafoya had 27 assists and 11 digs and has now recorded a pair of double-doubles during her true freshman campaign.
 
45 Straight
 
The Mavericks have now been included in the nation's top 25 teams for 45 consecutive editions of the American Volleyball Coaches Association/TARAFLEX NCAA Division II Poll.  They arre tied for 24^th in the latest edition, released on Monday (Sept. 22), slipping one spot from their No. 23 ranking in the Week No. 2 poll (Sept. 15).  The Mavs were also ranked 23^rd in the preseason edition but moved up to No. 18 in the Week No. 1 poll on Sept. 8.
 
CMU has been included in the top 25 of every poll  since the Week. 1 poll in 2022.
 
Friday's match against MSU Denver, now ranked fifth in the poll, will be the Mavs' fourth of the season against a nationally-ranked team at the time of the meeting and the third against a team ranked inside the top 25 of the current poll.
 
CMU has already played, then No. 2 and current No. 20 Angelo State as well as then No. 14 and now 11^th-ranked Simon Fraser earlier this season.  The Mavs also played against then 19^th-ranked Cal Poly Pomona, which has slipped outside of the top 25 but is still receiving votes in the poll.
 
The UCCS Mountain Lions are also receiving votes in this week's poll after their 9-0 start, which included a Saturday night home win over the Colorado School of Mines, also in the "others receiving votes" category.
 
One other Maverick opponent from this season in Cal State LA is also still receiving votes, CMU's "signature win" to date.
 
The top three teams in this week's poll remained unchanged with undefeated Lynn, Central Oklahoma and Tampa occupying the top three spots.  Nebraska-Kearney, which is also undefeated, took over the No. 4 spot from MSU Denver, which slipped a spot after surviving for a 5-set win over Mines in what was the Roadrunners' only match last week.
 
RMAC Poll Battle
 
Friday's match-up with MSU Denver will also be a battle of the top two teams in the RMAC Preseason Coaches Poll, released more than a month ago on Aug. 19.  The Mavericks were picked second out of 15 teams in the poll and  received two first place votes by being named amongst the top three teams on all 14 possible ballots of the other head coaches from around the conference, who ranked their opposition 1-14 without voting for their own squad.
 
MSU Denver picked up the other 13 first place votes to top the poll.
 
UCCS was picked eighth in the poll while Western was picked 12^th.
 
Going for 100
 
New Maverick Head Coach Austin Albers will be gunning for his 100^th career NCAA win on Friday night.
 
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 99-64 (.607) career record at the NCAA level.
 
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.
 
In 2023, Albers' CSU Pueblo squad was able to knock off MSU Denver in what has been the Roadrunners' lone conference loss in the past for years and also his lone win against the Roadrunners and counterpart Jenny Glenn.  His Pack squads went 10-0 against UCCS in his time in Pueblo.
 
They also went 5-1 against Western Colorado in his tenure.
 
Series Histories
 
The Mavericks are just 12-38 against MSU Denver in the NCAA Division II era but snapped an 8-match slide against the Roadrunners last year, taking down the then nation's top-ranked squad in an RMAC Power Pod match last Nov. 2.  MSU Denver has won their last three matches in Brownson Arena after the Mavs took down the then third-ranked Roadrunners during the 2021 COVID spring season.
 
Conversely, the Mavericks are 34-8 against the UCCS Mountain Lions and have won eight straight matches against them.  They are also 17-2 against them at home.  UCCS' last win in the rivalry was on Nov. 5, 2016, in a 5-set win over the Mavs in Brownson Arena.
 
CMU has been even more dominant against the Western Colorado Mountaineers.  The Mavs are 58-12 against them in the Division II era and have won 23 straight matches.  CMU is 29-5 at home against the Mountaineers, who have last beaten the Mavs in 2012.
 
Familiar Face
 
Maverick fans will recognize a familiar face but on the opposite side of the net on Saturday afternoon when the UCCS Mountain Lions come into Brownson Arena.  UCCS middle blocker Nicole Martin is now on the Mountain Lion roster after she earned First Team All-RMAC and AVCA Honorable Mention All-America honors in a Maverick uniform last year.
 
A native of Colorado Springs, Martin tried the Division I volleyball at UT-Martin last spring but found her way to UCCS this fall.
 
Martin has started all nine of the Mountain Lions' matches and leads the team in both blocks (27) and service aces (23) while ranking third on the Mountain Lion squad with 71 kills.
 
Home Sweet Home
 
The Mavericks have consistently taken advantage of their home and supportive crowd in Brownson Arena, something they hope to continue this weekend in their first home matches of the season.  The Mavs won their last ten home matches of 2024 and were 12-1 at home last season.
 
The have not lost more than a single home match in each of the previous seven seasons.
 
The Mavs were 13-1 at home in 2023 and went 8-1 in 2022. 
 
The Mavs also went 9-1 at home in 2021, with their only loss coming to MSU Denver, which has been the only conference team to beat CMU at home in the past four seasons.
 
The Mavs also went 6-1 at home during the 2021 spring season.  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 a 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 116-24 (.829) since the start of 2012.
 
They are 65-7 (.903) at home since 2018 and are 101-15 (.871) in their last 116 home matches since 2014.
 
About the Opponents
 
MSU Denver (Friday – 6 p.m.)
 
The Roadrunners are off to another solid start, going 8-1 thus far.  They were pushed to the limit, but survived for a 5-set road win at the Colorado School of Mines in their RMAC opener last Friday, their only match of last week.
 
Tenth-year coach Jenny Glenn's squad has won four straight matches overall, winning the Silver Division portion of the Colorado Premier Challenge they co-hosted with Regis on Sept. 12 and 13.  The Roadrunners defeated now tenth-ranked West Texas A&M and No. 12 Ferris State during their 3-1 performance but suffered their only loss to now 14^th-ranked Wayne State (Neb.) at the start of that tournament.
 
They have already played four 5-set matches this season, going 3-1 in them.
 
The Roadrunners have won the last four RMAC titles, dropping just one conference match in that time.
 
This year's quad is led by senior outside hitter Annika Helf, who has 135 kills (3.55/set) to rank fourth in the RMAC statistics. 
 
Freshman setter Karyna Werley, who takes regular swings as a hitter in 6-2 offensive scheme, is second on the team with 84 kills and is one of four Roadrunner hitters with hitting percentages north of .300 at .353.  She ranks fourth in the conference, just behind 6-foot-3 middle blocker Kryssa Moerman, who is at .364 with 66 kills to her credit.
 
Alyssa Boyte, who has 67 kills on .345 hitting, also ranks in the RMAC's top ten for attack percentage as they are hitting .269 as a team to lead the conference, just ahead of UCCS (.268) and CMU (.260).
 
Werley also has 196 assists while GabriElle has 222 to lead the team.  Brewer also has 17 service aces but a team-high 24 service errors.
 
Boyte leads the Roadrunners with 38 blocks while Mia Zccomazzo has 114 digs (3.00) to sit just ahead of Helf, who has recorded 108 (2.84/set).
 
UCCS (Saturday – 3 p.m.)
 
The Mountain Lions are 9-0 heading into a Friday night match at Westminster and are off to their best start in program history.  They are receiving votes in this week's AVCA Poll, marking the first time since Feb. 17, 2021 that they have been present in the poll.
 
They have dropped just three of their 30 total sets thus far, sweeping seven of their first nine opponents, including last Saturday's home win over the Colorado School of Mines to snap an 18-match losing streak in the rivalry with the Orediggers, that had gone back to 2012.
 
Senior defensive specialist and libero Mackenzie Ransom will likely reach the 1,000 career dig milestone this weekend entering Friday's match at Westminster just five away.  She has 109 this season (3.63) and is 11^th in the RMAC statistics just behind Maverick counterpart Allison Waller.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Payton Tompkins, a Second Team All-RMAC pick last year, has 100 kills and ranks third in the RMAC with her 3.70 per set average. Sydnee Walker (2.55), Nicole Martin (2.37) and Sydney Hyde (2.03) are also all averaging more than two kills per set.
 
Hyde leads the team with a .350 attack percentage and ranks sixth in the RMAC for that category.
 
The Mountain Lions lead the RMAC as a team in both kills (14.30/set) and assists (13.37/set) and rank second with their .268 attack percentage.  They also lead the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.145) and are dominating the conference statistics in service aces, combining for 80 (2.67/set) thus far.  Martin, Maylen Mitrovich and Ransom are the top three ranked individuals in the entire conference.
 
Audrey Dowd and Mitrovich have split setting duties and have combined for 335 assists.
 
Tara Hittle is in her fourth year as the Mountain Lions' head coach.
 
Western Colorado (Tuesday – 6 p.m.)
 
The Mountaineers are off to a rough 1-9 start and have won just five of their 32 total sets under the direction of new head coach Sonia Morales-Jones, who replaced Jordan Bruere, who in turn replaced Austin Albers at CSU Pueblo after the Mavs hired him.
 
Morales-Jones had spent the previous nine seasons at NAIA Benedict Mesa in Arizona, where she compiled a 166-88 record while making three national tournaments in four seasons.
 
The Mountaineers' lone win to date came over Millersville at the Mountain Lion Classic.  They then dropped their first two RMAC matches last weekend falling to South Dakota Mines and Black Hills State.
 
Olive Rolseth and Liv Marshall have provided much of the offensive attack, registering 95 and 94 kills, respectively.
 
Kyra Kidd has 21 blocks to lead the team while Brenna Hohava has 18, while appearing in 19 of the team's 32 sets to date.

Northeastern Oklahoma A&M transfer Galatia Andrew has 102 digs (3.19/set).
 
Junior setter Kaira Willits, a transfer from Western Iowa Tech Community College, has started all ten matches at setter and has 144 assists although she has split the duties with Anuhea Ka'alele, who has 116 in her freshman season.
 
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 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 remain at home next week, hosting Western Colorado on Tuesday and Westminster next Friday in RMAC Regional Pod matches.  Both will begin at 6 p.m. although neither will count in the RMAC standings.