GUNNISON, Colo.— Pin hitters
Ashlee Macias and
Henley Madsen combined for 27 kills as the Colorado Mesa University Mavericks hit .307 as a team in a 3-set (25-18, 25-18, 25-22) road sweep over Western Colorado University on Tuesday night in the Mountaineers' Paul Wright Gymnasium.
The Mavericks' win was their tenth of the season and allowed them to improve to 10-3 overall. WCU fell to 6-7 as they lost at home for just the second time in seven home matches.
Macias finished with 16 kills and hit .345 from the outside while Madsen put down 11 kills while hitting .421 from her opposite hitter position. Middle blocker
Jaycee Windorski also added eight kills and hit .538 while recording four blocks.
The Mountaineers were held to 27 kills as a team as the Mavs, who had 46, also finished with a 38-35 advantage in digs. Freshman libero
Maya Grant led that charge with nine digs.
Meanwhile, setter
Ashlyn Tafoya had 18 assists and six digs while
Hallie Hewlett recorded 14 assists, three digs and three of the Mavs' eight service aces.
The Mountaineers managed just three service aces.
The Mavericks hit .333 as a team in the first set and went on a 10-2 run behind the serving of
Addison Wright and Windorski to take a 17-10 lead, which proved to be enough to take the opening frame. Macias had three consecutive and four kills in a 5-0 spurt during that stretch.
In the second set, Hewlett had all three of her service aces in a 6-0 run that put the Mavs in front, 14-9.
The Mountaineers would claw back within 18-16 before Windorski triggered a 6-0 CMU spurt that featured back-to-back Wright aces to put the set away.
Wright then served the Mavs to a 4-0 lead in the third set before the Mountaineers came back to take a 12-11 lead.
Minutes later, the set was tied at 15 before a kill from
Sydney Amiatu instigated a 6-1 Maverick run that helped the Mavs complete the sweep.
The Mavs have now won 26 straight matches in the rivalry since 2013.
The match was the first of two Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Regional Pod matches that both teams will play this week as both will take on Westminster University later this week. It did not count in the RMAC standings. Western will host Westminster here on Friday afternoon before the Mavericks will take on the Griffins on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Grand Junction.
The Mavs will then play the Mountaineers again next Friday (Oct. 2) in a RMAC match.
