For volleyball’s Parents’ Weekend, the Mavericks played with a little extra motivation as they picked up 133 kills in two games.
On Friday, the Colorado Mesa University volleyball team played Black Hills State University and then against South Dakota School of Mines University on Saturday. After it was all said and done, CMU (12-7) won back-to-back games for the fourth time this season.
“Good weekend, both of those teams are improving, they (SDSMU) are playing a lot of freshman and Dana who is a local kid that is playing really well, so it was a good win. We know they went five last night, but they’ve also beat Metro and Colorado School of Mines, so they are dangerous,” CMU Head Coach Dave Fleming said. “I think we responded really well in game four, and I think that is really the key, teams are going on runs against us, but we were able to respond all weekend.”
Against Black Hills State University, the Mavericks came back to win 3-2 after being down 2-0, Senior Camille Smith had 22 kills and redshirt junior Kasie Gilfert had 20 kills. CMU had a hitting percentage of .222, which is .001 below their season average.
The Yellow Jackets scored the first three points of the first set, and BHSU continued to lead until the 16 point. The Mavericks took a one-point lead 17-16, and both teams traded points back and forth until CMU took control with their 22 point. This set needed an extra point as the Mavericks won 26-24.
To open the second set, the Yellow Jackets came out on a 4-1 run, and the Mavericks couldn’t tie the game up until the 18th point. BHSU and CMU traded point after point until the Yellow Jackets took a two-point lead and eventually won the set 24-26.
The Yellow Jackets scored the first two points of the third set, but the Mavericks flipped it into a 6-1 run to take the lead. In the blink of an eye, BHSU took the lead 10-7 after their own 7-1 run. Neither team could gain clear control of the third set as both teams matched the output of the other, but after the 22nd point for the Yellow Jackets, they took control to win their second set 26-24.
To open the fourth set BHSU scored the first point, but CMU answered with a 3-1 run to take the lead. Smith and Gilfert took control of this fourth set as the Mavericks took the lead 17-10, and after the Yellow Jackets narrowed the deficit to three points, CMU opened it back up to six points to reach 20 points. With the 23-17 lead, the Mavericks put BHSU to bed with a 25-20 lead.
In the fifth and final set, the Mavericks would not be denied this win as they opened with a 7-2 run. Smith had the hot hand in the fifth set as she closed this game out for CMU, as they won 15-7. The final point was scored off an attack error by BHSU’s Kindra Cerrone.
“I think (Kasie and Camille) wanted the ball more often, we didn’t pass great last night, so I think they were getting frustrated that they weren’t getting the ball. I think the big thing for them is set me the ball and when we did they made good things happen,” Fleming said.
In the second game of the Mavericks Parent’s Weekend was against South Dakota School of Mines University. CMU was again led by Kasie Gilfert who had 19 kills, but their hitting percentage was well above their average at .306.
The Mavericks opened the first set on a 6-2 run, and they protected their lead as they went up 12-7. In the blink of an eye, CMU’s lead was even larger as they went up 20-11 and they didn’t look like they were going to let up either. The Mavericks did, however, let the Hardrockers back into the game, even though CMU won 25-18.
The second set opened with a 5-5 tie between the teams, as neither team could grab the early momentum. The Mavericks took the lead 10-6 with a four-point run, and a won challenge by CMU put them up 17-9 shortly after. The Hardrockers were able to get back into the game again as the Mavericks had a tough time closing despite the win the second set 25-18.
The third set was started with another 5-5 tie, but almost identically the Mavericks found themselves up 11-7. The Hardrockers weren’t going to be denied in the third though, as they kept the game close and took the lead 15-13. Late in the set SDSMU took control of the momentum and won the set outright 25-22.
The fourth set started with the Hardrockers going on a 6-2 run, to grab all of the momentum early. Smith turned the tide of this set with a big kill and then serving the ball for the next six points including a service ace. With all the momentum on their side, the Mavericks took the lead 20-10 and won the set 25-16 to grab their fourth consecutive home win.
“We passed a ton better, we were assisted a lot more, so I think that was a big key. We were able to run our middles and they were pretty good,” Fleming said.
Gilfert led the Mavericks in kills this weekend with 39, and Smith had 35 through both games this weekend. CMU also had 30 total blocks in both Parents’ Weekend.
The Mavericks’ next game is on Oct. 25 against Westminster College at 7 p.m. in Salt Lake City, Utah.
