Colorado Mesa University’s volleyball team was looking to take advantage of their final two home games before the team goes back on the road for four straight. Both games went down to the final set, with the Mavericks coming away victorious against Adams State on Friday night, but they fell to Fort Lewis College on Saturday.
Friday night against the Grizzlies the Mavericks came out hot in the first two sets. The team won them 25-13 and 25-18 respectively. However, the next two sets were not in the Mavericks favor as they lost two straight (25-23, 25-21).
It all came down to the fifth set, where the Mavericks would prevail 15-10 to get their 10 win of the season.
Mackenzie Edwards finished with a then career-high of 28 kills on the night. Samantha Ritter finished with a game-high 47 assists for CMU, and Taylor Woods finished with 21 digs.
The Mavericks finished the match with a .279 hitting percentage, which was much higher compared to the Grizzlies .151 percentage.
CMU’s next task was against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference rival FLC. This game went exactly like the previous one through the first four sets.
The Mavericks came out firing in the first two sets, winning them 25-19 and 25-22. Then it was the Skyhawks turn to win two straight (25-22, 25-23) to force a fifth set for the second consecutive game.
This time, however, the Mavericks were unable to swing the momentum back in their favor. The Skyhawks were able to pull off the come from behind win with a 15-12 fifth set victory.
“It sucks,” Edwards said. “It is a gut check just like [Head coach Dave Fleming] said. We got to work on figuring out how to get that one more swing, that one more dig. Just one more something to help get us through that.”
On paper, the Mavericks finished with good statistics. Edwards beat her total from the night before with 33 kills. That was one off from the school record that was set back in 2004. Ritter finished with 59 assists and Woods had 29 digs. But that still wasn’t enough for the Mavericks to pull out a victory on their home court.
“It is just one of those things where statistically we are doing so well, we just can’t seem to finish,” Edwards said regarding her career high in kills. “Even if I did have a great night I still need to do better.”
With the loss, CMU moved to 10-4 on the season and 4-2 in the conference. The Mavericks will now head out on the road for their next four games. Their first test will be against Colorado State University-Pueblo on Friday. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
