mfreter@mavs.coloradomesa.edu

CMU’s volleyball team extended its winning streak to four matches this weekend in front of its home crowd at Brownson Arena.

The Mavericks (13-3, 7-1 RMAC) took on conference opponents Chadron State and Black Hills State and handled them both without dropping a set. The Mavs played catch-up for most of their first match over the Eagles and needed late rallies to recover from early deficits to take the final two sets and the win (25-23, 29-27, 25-23).

“After our win over Adams State, we knew we could compete with anybody,” setter Jordyn Moody said. “We came into this weekend very confident.”

Friday’s match was dedicated to breast cancer awareness month as players, coaches, fans and referees all sported the color pink to show support. Danatte Otzen, mother of freshman outside hitter Christian Otzen, was recognized by CMU for her current struggle with the disease and made an honorary serve to begin the match.

The Eagles were relentless and kept pace with the Mavericks throughout the first set. With both teams tied at 23 points, a kill by Moody and blocks by seniors Kelly Regimbal and Rachael Beaty ended the first set in CMU’s favor. The second and third sets saw the Mavs trailing late due to attacking errors and constant pressure by the Eagles. The Mavericks were able to respond with a solid attack to complete the comeback in both sets to sweep the match.

“We weren’t playing with enough intensity when we got down early,” Moody said. “We didn’t change our strategy at all. We just knew that we had to pick it up, and we did.”

Otzen led the Mavs with 13 kills, followed by Regimbal and Beaty with 7. Moody posted 32 assists and senior Megan Rush added 17 digs.

The second contest against the Yellow Jackets went much differently as the Mavs only trailed once the entire match and dominated throughoutv to pick up the second victory of the weekend (25-19, 25-20, 25-19).

The Mavs started strong in the first two sets, taking eight point leads in both. However, the Yellow Jackets fought for every last point and made it difficult for CMU to close with a win. In the third set, Black Hills State saw its first lead of the entire match, but it was quickly erased as the Mavs went on a rally to retake the lead and secure the sweep.

Otzen recorded 15 kills in the match, followed by Moody with 34 assists and Rush with 16 digs.

The Mavs will continue their RMAC homestand as Colorado School of Mines and Colorado Christian University come to Brownson Arena this weekend.