GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University beach volleyball team will look to contend for its second national tournament title this weekend when the Mavs play in the AVCA Small College Beach Championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
The Mavs, who have a 14-8 overall record including a perfect 5-0 mark against fellow Division II teams, are seeded second amongst the 19 teams in the NCAA Division II field and will look to duplicate their 2022 title while dethroning top-seeded and 3-time defending national champion Tampa.
With their No. 2 seed, the Mavs are expected to lead Pool B and will play four pool play matches on Friday and Saturday at the Gulf Shores Public Beach.
The top team from each pool will then advance to the Gold or Championship bracket for Sunday's pool. Similar silver, bronze and copper brackets will be formed for the second, third and fourth place teams in each of the four pools. A consolation bracket for the fifth place finishers in Pools A, B and C will also be played on Sunday. Pool D only has four teams.
Separate NCAA Division III and NAIA championship events are also being held throughout the weekend.
Follow the Mavs
The tournament webpage is
https://www.avca.org/event/avca-small-college-beach-volleyball-championships/
Results from the tournament can be found on the
tournament's VolleyballLife.com webpage.
A daily recap will also be posted on
www.cmumavericks.com each evening.
Last Times Out
The Mavericks last played at the University of Arizona's Wildcat Spring Challenge in Tucson on Apr. 3 and 4. The Mavericks lost all four of their matches against NCAA Division I foes, including two that were ranked amongst the nation's top 20 and two others in the receiving votes category of the AVCA's Collegiate Beach Poll.
Lauren Rohlwing and
Regan Rothley went 2-2 at No. 4 to lead the Mavericks' efforts, recording wins over No. 14 Hawai'i and Florida Gulf Coast.
Ellie Ask and
Gracyn Spresser also recorded a top flight win over No. 18 South Carolina while
Mikala Henderson and
Addie Ritterbush joined Rohlwing and Rothley as winners against Florida Gulf Coast.
Recaps of both days worth of action can be found here.
National Success
Success at the national level is nothing new to the Mavericks, who hope to continue the trend this week. The Mavs won the national tournament in 2022 and took second in 2023 before finishing third in 2024. They also won their pool and advanced to the Gold Bracket at last year's championship before being downed by the eventual national champion Tampa Spartans in the quarterfinal round.
Earlier in program history, they Mavs took fourth in 2019 and tied for fifth in 2021 in their first two appearances. The 2020 tournament was not held due to COVID.
The Mavs have a 24-12 all-time record in the tournament, including a 17-6 mark over the past four years.
Against the Field
The Mavs have a 5-0 record against this week's tournament field. They went 2-0 against No. 6 seed Carson-Newman, who is in Pool C and also went 2-0 against No. 17 seed Emmanuel, which is in Pool A.
The Mavs also claimed a 4-1 win over No. 10 seed Erskine, who they will play again in their final Pool B match on Saturday.
Tampa, Concordia Irvine and Palm Beach Atlantic are seeded atop their respective pools.
Lineup
Maverick Head Coach
David Skaff will use the same lineup that he has used throughout much of the season in the No. 1-4 pairs, which is listed below. He did note that he plans to rotate different players in the No. 5 pair throughout the tournament.
Here is a look at the Mavs' expected lineup, which each pair's 2026 season record when playing together.
- Ellie Ask/Gracyn Spresser (16-6)
- Ania Swartzendruber/Ewelina Gaceck (14-8)
- Mikala Henderson/Addie Ritterbush (16-6)
- Lauren Rohlwing/Regan Rothley (16-2)
- Jessica Passi/Stormi Tadlock (5-1)
Pairs Challenge
In addition to their main team lineup, the Mavs have also entered two additional pairs in the Pairs Challenge Tournament that will be contested on Friday.
Although there is no overall champion, the winners of each of the ten 4-pair pols will receive an award.
The Maverick pairs include Avery Malke and
Jada Whitall, who are 10-2 together this year, and
Bella Friess and
Eva Stewart, who have yet to play together.
Record-Setting Maverick
With her win alongside sophomore
Ellie Ask against South Carolina on Apr. 3, Maverick redshirt senior
Gracyn Spresser set a new CMU record for career wins. The victory was Spresser's 69
th of her CMU career, one more than Sabrina VanDeList won from 2021-24.
Spresser, a native of Johnson, Arkansas, is now 69-51 throughout her four years with the Mavericks after redshirting at Missouri State as a true freshman.
Spresser and Ask are 16-6 this year and also went 16-14 as a duo last year.
Century Win
The Mavericks' 5-0 win over Central Wyoming on Mar. 7 was the program's 100
th all-time dual-win.
It was also the 100
th win for Maverick Head Coach
David Skaff, the only head coach in the program's history since the founding in 2016. Eighty eight of the Mavs' 111 wins, including the 5-0 win over Trinidad State later that day, have come in the last 4-plus seasons.
Home Perfection
With their four recent wins, the Maverick improved to a perfect 29-0 on home sand throughout their program's history.
Eleven of the Mavs' home wins have come over Trinidad State while six others have come over Central Wyoming, which has come to Grand Junction in each of the past two years on the same corresponding weekend.
Trinidad State has come in each of the past five years, on various March weekends.
Pool Foes
Here are brief capsules about the Mavs' four Pool B opponents that they will face on Friday and Saturday.
McKendree (Friday-7 a.m. Mountain /8 a.m. Central)
The Bearcats are seeded 18
th in the 19-team field and enter the tournament with a 5-11 record.
They have lost five straight after winning five straight between Mar. 16-28, a stretch that included a 4-0 trip to Hawai'i with wins over Chaminade and Hawai'i Pacific. They also won over Southwest Baptist.
Wingate (Friday- 1:30 p.m. Mountain/2:30 p.m. Central)
The Bulldogs are 11-18 overall and will enter the tournament seeded 15
th. They have lost four straight and nine out of their last ten and went 0-2 at last week's South Atlantic Conference Tournament, falling 5-0 to Carson-Newman and 3-2 to Catawba.
They had a 3-match winning streak earlier in the season, including a 5-0 win over Emmanuel and a pair of wins over Division I Morehead State.
Saint Leo (Friday-1:30 p.m. Mountain/2:30 p.m. Central)
The Lions, who are seeded seventh in the tournament, have a 20-7 overall record. They went 11-2 at home this season.
They are coming off a 2-2 effort at last weekend's Sunshine State Conference Tournament,
Two pairs in Thalie Brossard/Emma Laade and Erin Johnson/Paula Perez Rosales earned All-SSC honors. Brossard and Laade were first team picks while Johnson and Perez Rosales were second team honorees.
Erskine (Friday-3:40 p.m. Mountain/4:40 p.m. Central)
The Fleet are 13-16 overall and went 1-2 at last week's South Atlantic Conference Tournament after going 8-2 in conference play throughout the season.
Abby Platt was recently named as the SAC's Player of the Year while she and partner Reka Meilinger earned first team all-conference honors. Mackenzie Fa'apouli and Hannah Platter second team honorees.
Abby Platt and Mellinger went 12-5 against Division II foes this season, including an 8-2 record in conference play.
Series Histories
The Mavs have never previously played McKendree or Wingate. They are 1-0 against Saint Leo, winning a 3-2 match during the 2024 AVCA Championships in Tavares, Florida.
The Mavs are 3-0 against Erskine in program history. They have 2023 and 2025 AVCA Championship wins over the Fleet and defeated Erskine, 4-1 earlier this season on Mar. 18.
Up Next
This weekend will conclude the Mavs' 11
th season of program history.
