Let’s keep this going shall we? This season for the Colorado Mesa University volleyball team has been thrilling and it would be a shame if it came to a sudden halt because of what this year has brought.
After winning the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Tournament Championship last Saturday by defeating MSU-Denver in the finals, the Mavericks have their eyes aimed at the NCAA Division II Regionals.
“We gotta keep emphasizing that our best is in front of us, that we haven’t peaked,” Head Coach Dave Fleming said. “We are trying new things are willing to adapt to what the opponents are offering us. It is exciting to see in this late stage that we have senior on our side of the net willing to change to get that W.”
The RMAC Tournament victory was the first since 2014 for CMU and it couldn’t have come in better fashion. A three-set sweep dominated by Mavericks on every inch of the scoreboard.
“This fuels our fire more,” Senior Natalee Todd said after the victory on Saturday. “For a while, I don’t really think our team knew how good we are…this fuels us for the regional and to keep fighting and keep pushing.”
With their RMAC Tournament win–They will go into regionals seeded number three and will be facing off against conference rival, Dixie State, this Wednesday. During the RMAC Tournament, the Mavericks defeated the Trailblazers in the semifinals but were beaten in their two regular-season encounters.
Dixie State is seeded sixth in the region.
CMU has won six consecutive matches in a row with their last loss being against Fort Lewis back on Oct. 20. Since then, the Mavericks have only lost three sets and have swept four of their last six opponents.
While becoming RMAC Champions, the Mavericks collected plenty of individual accolades along the way. Middle blocker Kassie Gilfert was named as tournament MVP while libero Taylor Woods was named RMAC Academic Player of the Year.
Both Gilfert and Woods made the All-RMAC Tournament team along with senior McKenzie Edwards and Ara Norwood.
If the Mavericks defeat Dixie State on Wednesday they will face the winner of the Texas A&M-Commerce and Angelo State game on Friday. Fellow RMAC rivals, Colorado School of Mines and MSU-Denver are also in the same region. The Orediggers and Roadrunners will play their first-round matchup on Wednesday.
So how far exactly will CMU go in this 64-team marathon? Well, it isn’t their first time being here. Since Dave Fleming became the head coach in 2005, he has led his teams to six NCAA Tournament appearances. The Mavericks made the tournament for three consecutive years from 2014-16.
“I’m just happy for these gals,” Fleming said. “They deserve it. They put in the work.”
The last time CMU won the RMAC Tournament they made it to the Regional Finals.
The first-round matchup against Dixie State has an official start time of 11:00 a.m. and will take place in Stephenville, TX.
