Friday night the Mavericks had a hitting percentage of .299 and when they hit over .200, the Colorado Mesa University volleyball team is 13-1.
CMU played Fort Lewis College and were able to sweep the visiting Skyhawks in three sets.
The Mavericks dominated the first set and early in the second set, but the Skyhawks turned in on late after Jacalyn Sharko suffered a knee nasty injury while coming down from a spike. After Sharko got hurt, the Skyhawks turned the second and third into some competitive competition and gave the Mavericks a run for their money. Despite FLC’s effort throughout the game, the Mavericks still came up with the 1-2-3 victory.
“I think we played really well, I think the injury freaked everyone out a little bit, so we kind of lost our momentum and mojo after that a little bit. I’m really happy with how we played up until that point, and then we didn’t play our best volleyball, but we still found a way to win,” CMU Head Coach Dave Fleming said.
Redshirt-junior Kasie Gilfert led the Mavericks in kills with 17 as she was the only Maverick in double-figures.
“I think the biggest thing is for the majority of the season, I’ve had a triple block on me, and so that has made me become more dynamic with the ball and be smart where I put the ball,” Gilfert said. “Tonight, I didn’t have the triple block on me, I had a double sometimes only one, and I think that allowed me to show that I had these angles and now they are easier for me to hit.”
The first set opened with CMU going on a 10-1 run to grab all the momentum early in the game. The Mavericks didn’t let off the gas pedal either as they went up 19-11 against the Skyhawks as CMU had 20 kills in the first. Camille Smith who only had two kills in the first game, finished the set off for the Mavericks to win 25-16.
The second set was opened by the Skyhawks, but it didn’t last as the Mavericks took a 7-2 lead early in the set. Then Sharko was injured coming down from a kill, and the momentum turned in FLC’s favor. Sharko’s injury sparked the Skyhawks offense, but the Mavericks stayed right with the Skyhawks to win the set 25-19.
The third set was fought to the nail, but the Mavericks grabbed an early lead, but it wouldn’t last as the Skyhawks took the lead 8-6. The third stayed close throughout as the Mavericks took the lead back 22-19. FLC almost tied the game, but CMU closed the set out 25-23 to get the clean sweep in their fifth home game of the season.
“We came out really well and played on fire early, and from that injury point, I just think we grinded really well and just did what we had to do to get to 25 first,” CMU Head Coach Fleming said.
CMU’s effort continued in their second game of the weekend against Adams State as they won in a quick sweep. The Mavericks only allowed 20 or more points in one set, as CMU had 10 blocks and 48 kills.
The first set was fought hard early by both teams, but the Mavericks opened the set up with a four-point run, and they kept the Grizzlies at bay to win the set 25-18.
CMU was firing on all cylinders in the second set as they had 16 kills and scored seven points off of ASU errors. The Mavericks were fueled by six multi-point that helped break the set open to grab the 2-0 lead.
The Mavericks opened the third set on a 12-4 run that took all the momentum out of the Grizzlies sails. ASU’s effort multiplied as they tried to get back into the set, but with the momentum on their side, the Mavericks were able to win the set 25-18.
CMU is still undefeated at home on the year (5-0) and will play their second game of the weekend on Saturday, Nov. 2 against Adams State at 4 p.m.
