The Mavericks fall to the Roadrunners after four close sets. 

Colorado Mesa University (CMU) entered conference play at home against Metro State University-Denver (MSUD). 

The game was back and forth through all four sets as both teams are forces to be reckoned with this season in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Each set was determined by three or two points besides the last match where MSUD took the fourth set at a score of 25-20. 

Both teams’ hitting percentage was not as high due to the quality of the defense that each team displayed. MSUD finished at .213 while CMU finished just below .200 with .170. 

Freshman outside hitter Sydney Leffler set a career high with 22 kills. Leffler has been able to add more depth to an already talented left side of the court for the Mavericks. She is accompanied by redshirt junior outside hitter Holly Schmidt who had nine kills for herself in the game. 

Redshirt freshman setter Sabrina VanDeList continues the success that she has had this season as well as last season. She was able to set up her hitters so they could get the ball ove the net to get a total of 42 assists. 

VanDeList also recorded her second double-double of the season as she also recorded ten digs defensively. 

“I think we did a really good job of being as aggressive as we can. Sabrina did a really good job setting us up for success so I think Sydney and Gabby [Vogt] did a really good job of getting through the blocks and finding their spots,” Schmidt said. 

Redshirt freshman right side hitter Gabby Vogt had five kills as she was able to hit cross court multiple times. She had a hitting percentage of .118. Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Savannah Spitzer was also able to attack the ball cross court as well as straight down to get nine kills of her own. 

Kerstin Layman led the Mavericks on the defensive side as she was able to make several athletic plays to keep the ball in play. She had 26 digs on the night as most of them came from the back half of the court. 

MSUD had a quicker approach out of the gate as they took the first set with help from Alexis Benda who did not stop all night long. Ember Canty was another Roadrunner who helped her team not only in the first set but throughout the night. The two combined for 28 kills against the Mavericks defense. 

The combo of Canty and Benda as well as other hitters for the roadrunners became a challenge for the Mavericks defense as they only had eight blocks total throughout the game. Spitzer had five of those blocks, VanDeList had four and redshirt junior middle blocker Tye Wedhorn had three. 

Each team also had an unusual amount of errors after the game. The Roadrunners and the Mavericks both had eight service errors that they tried to overcome throughout the game. 

The Mavericks will travel to Salt Lake City, Utah to take on Westminster College. The game will begin at 6 p.m. on Sept. 17.2021.