Sports Reporter
scschroc@mavs.coloradomesa.edu
Rebecca Sellers described it as the worst weekend of the year.
Unforced errors killed the CMU volleyball team last weekend, who lost three road matches to increase its losing streak to five. The Mavs committed 98 errors over the three-match span, with 42 coming in a four-set loss to Colorado Springs.
“We gave them all too many points with our errors,” Sellers said. “I think that’s one thing that can be fixed to get us back in control and back to playing Maverick volleyball.”
The Mavs struggled to gain that control during Thursday’s match at Regis, dropping the first two sets after giving up long scoring runs. An 11-11 tie turned in to a 21-12 deficit off of several attack errors. A kill by outside hitter Christian Otzen sparked a run for the Mavs, but Regis held on to win 25-19.
“All the errors definitely did not help us this weekend, but we have learned that games are totally in our control,” setter Jordyn Moody said. “If we pick it up and control our side there is no way we can lose.”
Set two featured another big Regis scoring run, leaving the Mavs down 13-2. Regis held off the Mavs to take the second set 25-13.
“Going down two sets is tough, but when we lose the first two we just try to refocus and adjust our game plan or whatever our weaknesses were,” Otzen said. “We always try to come out in the third set with the fight-back mentality.”
The Mavericks picked up that mentality in set three, using a Haleigh Higgins kill from Moody’s set to win 25-16. Set four went down to the wire, but a Maverick error at 23-23 gave Regis match point, and Regis’ Katie Klein placed a kill to end the match.
A long bus ride to Colorado Springs gave CMU a chance to regroup and win a tight first set 25-23. A 15-11 lead in the second set evaporated quickly, however, as UCCS went on a 14-5 run to tie the match. The Mavs had trouble holding leads in sets three and four to lose the match 3-1, committing a season-high 42 errors along way.
“The errors played a huge role in the losses,” Higgins said. “We can fix them with minor tweaks that will help us going into next weekend.”
After losing the opening two games at Metro State, the Mavericks fought back in the third set to earn a 20-12 lead. Metro’s Savannah Garcia won seven straight service points, cutting the Mavs’ lead to 23-21. A CMU timeout stopped the run, and consecutive kills from Otzen and Kelly Regimbal gave the Mavs a 25-21 win. The fourth set remained close until Metro’s Alysa Heath finished the match with a kill to win 25-21.
Despite the five-match skid, CMU sits in third in the RMAC-West Division standings behind Adams State and Western New Mexico. With six regular season matches left and only one win away from clinching a spot in the conference tournament, playoff hopes are very much alive.
“We are in control of our fate, which is comforting,” Higgins said. “If we fix a few things, we are going to be a hard team to beat. We are motivated to win out, and we are definitely capable of doing that.”
That motivation will be key if the Mavs are to win the West Division for the third straight season, and the team is ready to work for it.
“We have a great group of girls, and we all want to win really badly,” Moody said. “We are willing to work even harder to make sure we win these games coming up and finish strong.”
The team is using its losing streak to fuel that motivation. Coach Dave Fleming said that the last two weekends have been a gut check for the team and that the losses have to eat at the team until its rhythm comes back.
“We are a really gifted team and these last few matches have been a reminder that we can compete with these high ranked teams, but they aren’t going to just hand it to us,” Otzen said. “If we want it as bad as we say we do, we have to put it all out there and just go for it.”
The Mavs will look to start the turn- around on Friday at 7 p.m. with three home matches in Brownson Arena over the weekend.
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