GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— Nineteen Maverick players saw action while freshman
Molly Whalen shined with a career-high 17 kills on .538 hitting in her first collegiate start as the Colorado Mesa University volleyball team swept visiting New Mexico Highlands University, 25-9, 25-17, 25-21 on Saturday afternoon in Brownson Arena.
The 3-set sweep was the Mavs' fourth straight and allowed them to complete a 6-match homestand unbeaten with five sweeps and a 5-set victory.
The deep CMU squad also improved to 8-2 overall and to 2-0 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play and is in a first place tie in the conference standings after the opening weekend.
Meanwhile the visiting Cowgirls dropped to 2-8 overall and to 0-2 in the loop.
Whalen, an outside hitter out of Litchfield Park, Arizona, had seven kills on eight swings in the opening set, put down four more in the second and finished the match off with six kills in the third.
As a team, the Mavs put down 46 kills and hit .351 while recording a big 51-32 advantage in total digs, thanks in large part to freshman libero
Maya Grant's 15. The Mavs also registered ten blocks from eight different players.
Setter
Ashlyn Tafoya recorded 22 assists and two of the Mavs' five service aces as CMU Head Coach
Austin Albers rotated through three setters and the lineup as a whole as 11 different Mavericks started at least one set.
The Mavs dominated the early going, taking a 9-1 lead behind the serving of junior middle blocker
Jaycee Windorski and three of
Ashlee Macias' nine total kills in the early opening.
The Mavs went on to extend the lead to 18-5 and finished the opening set with 16 kills and just one error, good for a .469 team hitting percentage.
The Mavs also got off to a good second set start, building a 15-5 lead, thanks in part to three consecutive
Coco Barnett kills. After hitting .323 while going deep into the bench in the second set, the Mavericks faced a slightly stronger Cowgirl challenge in the third.
The Mavs still managed to take a 12-8 lead after going down 4-2 early in the set but watched the Cowgirls go on a 9-2 spurt to take a 17-14 lead.
Typical CMU sophomore opposite hitter and starter
Henley Madsen, who took most of the afternoon off, then came in to record a kill before recording an ace to help trigger a 6-0 Maverick run that put the Mavs ahead for good en route to the match win.
The Mavs have now recorded 18 straight wins over the Cowgirls and are 26-1 against them in Grand Junction since the start of the NCAA Division II era in 1992.
Winners of eight straight at home dating back to last season, the Mavs will now head on the road for three straight, beginning on Friday (Sept. 18), when they will take on the defending NCAA Division II Champion MSU Denver Roadrunners at their Auraria Event Center.
The Roadrunners, under the direction of a new head coach, are currently 4-4 heading into their RMAC opener against the Colorado School of Mines on Saturday afternoon.
