The 21 nationally ranked women’s volleyball team went 3-1 over the last two weeks. The Mavericks dropped their first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) match-up versus Metropolitan State University-Denver (MSUD), but won their next two conference matches against Westminster College and Adams State University.
The fourth ranked Roadrunners swept the Mavericks and blocked them a total of 14 times in a RMAC heavyweight showdown. Redshirt sophomore setter Sabrina VanDeList recorded a double-double with 23 assists and 14 digs. Redshirt junior middle blocker Savannah Spitzer had 14 kills in the loss.
Colorado Mesa University (CMU) turned around less than a day later and swept Westminster College 3-0 in their home opener. VanDeList totaled 34 assists and three kills while redshirt sophomore outside hitter Sierra Hunt tallied 11 kills and sophomore outside hitter Sydney Leffler recorded ten of her own.
The Mavericks swept their second RMAC opponent in a row a week later in Alamosa, Colorado. Redshirt junior Tye Wedhorn had 10 kills and five blocks during a dominant CMU outing.
Lastly, CMU swept New Mexico Highlands University 3-0 on Sept. 17. Hunt, Leffler and graduate student middle hitter Erin Curl each put down nine kills, while Layman led the team with 21 digs. The Mavericks improved to 8-3 overall and 3-1 in conference play.
“We competed well this weekend. Blocking was really good both nights. Kerstin Layman played great behind the block. She showed why she earned the best defensive player in the RMAC in 2021,” head coach Dave Fleming said.
Men’s soccer has picked up where they left off after their RMAC championship last year. Currently, they rank tenth in the NCAA coaches poll, with their only loss coming from Midwestern State University (MSU), who is ranked fifth.
After the loss in the season opener to MSU, the Mavericks have rattled off five straight wins, outscoring their opponents 19-5 during that stretch. Freshman forward Manuel Ponce Casas has been the go-to creator for the team thus far. The freshman leads the team in points, via six goals and two assists. Ponce Casas, who is 6’2”, often is on the receiving end of crosses from his teammates.
“I think the team is playing well so far. We have been playing really good offense and I’m understanding how my team likes to play. They search for me in the box and my job is to finish the play. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t score so well,” Casas said.
Cosas has now won two RMAC offensive player of the week awards in the short season. The Playa Del Carmen product has haunted opposing defenses with his high flying headers, and has grabbed the attention of fans with his signature front flip celebration.
CMU was able to host three teams, Simon Fraser University, Montana State University Billings and Fort Lewis for the Colorado Mesa kickoff weekend, sponsored by Doubletree Hilton. CMU faced off against Montana State University Billings to kick off the first night of the event.
The Mavericks dominated the game end to end with a 5-1 victory. The team saw five different players score a goal, including redshirt junior Raymond Jackson, who scored his first career goal in the opening moments of the match. After the opening night victory, the Mavericks faced off against Simon Fraser University just two days later. The short-rested Mavericks won 3-1 with a second half surge.
“We had a lot of chances tonight. I mean, we had 21 shots tonight against a very good team that I think will be in the national tournament at the end of the year. I told the guys, ‘if you finish your chances it changes the comfort level of the game,” and we were able to do that,” men’s soccer head coach John Frigal said.
Women’s soccer has a 2-3-1 record, after some close losses. The team began their season traveling to the Pacific Northwest to take on Saint Martin’s University and Western Oregon University (WOU).
After dropping the first game to Saint Martin’s, the Mavericks found themselves in a back and forth battle with WOU. Redshirt sophomore Addie Randel got the party started with a rebound goal in the 38 minute. Just two minutes later, WOU was able to tie the game, and later took the lead with a goal in the 82 minute. The Mavericks then responded with a free kick goal two minutes later to tie the game at 2-2. But just like the first time the Mavericks scored, WOU immediately responded with the game winning goal to drop the Mavericks record to 0-2.
During the Colorado Mesa kickoff weekend, the team picked up their two first wins, outscoring their competition 9-0. In the first match of the weekend, redshirt sophomore Lila Dere scored all four goals for the Mavericks, defeating University of Nebraska Kearney 4-0. Dere currently leads the team in goals, with nine already this season.
In the second match of the weekend, redshirt sophomore Evelyn Hammer was the goal scorer for the team. Hammer poured in four goals of her own, leading the Mavericks to a 5-0 win over California State Dominguez Hills.
With the stellar performances from Dere and Hammer, they now share the program single game goal record with four. Dere was named RMAC offensive player of the week, while Maverick goalkeeper redshirt sophomore Chloe Dody was named RMAC defensive player of week after her pair of shutouts over the weekend.
