GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— Junior outside hitter
Ashlee Macias recorded a season-high 19 kills and added 13 digs to record her fifth double-double of the season while leading the Colorado Mesa University Maverick volleyball team to a 4-set home win over Fort Lewis College on Saturday afternoon in Brownson Arena.
The Mavericks also received 11 kills from
Addie Ritterbush and ten more from
Molly Whalen while out-blocking the Skyhawks, 11-2 in the 25-16, 25-18, 21-25, 25-16 triumph.
The Mavs have now won four straight matches and 11 of their last 12 while improving to 13-3 overall and to 5-1 in RMAC play, retaining a share of the conference lead alongside MSU Denver and UCCS.
The Skyhawks, led by 16 kills from Jordan DeJesus and 15 from Alina Nunez, slipped to 9-7 overall and to 3-3 in conference play.
The Mavs hit .311 in the match as Macias hit at a personal .424 clip. Ritterbush also hit .409 and added four blocks while Whalen heated up in the second and third sets to finish with a .292 attack percentage.
Meanwhile,
Henley Madsen added six kills while
Jaycee Windorski chipped in five kills and six blocks.
Aesha Alrashed also added four blocks.
Libero
Maya Grant recorded 17 digs while setter
Ashlyn Tafoya tallied 26 assists and five digs. Fellow setter
Ashlyn Persha also had 20 assists and nine digs to set season-highs in both categories.
Amazingly, there were no lead changes in any of the sets although three of the four were tied a combined 11 times early on before the winning teams pulled away.
The Mavs hit .400 in the first set and used a 7-1 run after the teams were tied at 8-8 to build a 15-9 lead that was never threatened by FLC. Macias had six kills on eight swings in the opening frame.
Macias would also trigger a 7-2 second set run after that set was tied at 14. That run, which put the Mavs up 21-16 proved to enough as Whalen had kills on three of the final four rallies. CMU had 18 kills and hit .395 in that set, which saw Macias put down seven while Whalen added five.
The Skyhawks then jumped out to a 4-0 lead and went on to build an 18-11 advantage in the third set. The visitors then extended the lead to 22-15 on back-to-back service aces before the Mavs rallied to within 23-19 thanks to a 4-0 run that featured two Ritterbush kills along with two blocks.
However, a Skyhawk kill and later Maverick hitting error gave the Skyhawks the third set.
The Mavs re-grouped quickly and took an 8-4 lead thanks to a 4-0 run with
Addison Wright behind the service line early in the fourth set. Moments later, the Mavs then went on another 4-0 run that featured two Macias kill.
The Skyhawks then collapsed with four straight errors as CMU went ahead 19-9 before later building a 24-12 advantage.
The Skyhawks then scored four straight points before Macias' final kill ended the run and the match.
CMU is now a perfect 9-0 at home this season and has won 11 straight home matches dating back to last year.
The Mavs will play their next three on the road in a span of just five days, starting Friday (Oct. 9) at Colorado Christian (7-7, 4-2 RMAC), which sits just a match behind the Mavs and tied for fourth in the conference standings.
