by Andrew Kiser
After playing 13 of their first 14 games on the road, the CMU volleyball team played their first homestead of the season in which they swept two RMAC opponents over the weekend.
On Friday, the Mavericks faced off against the CSU-Pueblo Thunderwolves. CMU won the first set, 25-18, with a .227 hitting percentage against the Thunderwolves’ .070 percentage.
The second set was more difficult for the Mavericks as they battled the Thunderwolves back and forth late in the set. CSU-Pueblo was ahead at 23-22 before CMU took two points from a kill by Mackenzie Edwards and an error by CSU-Pueblo.
The Thunderwolves then tied the match at 24 all, but another kill by Edwards and another error by CSU-Pueblo put the set out of reach for the Thunderwolves. The Mavs won the set, 26-24.
The third and final set was easier for the Mavericks as they led early and won the last four points by errors committed by CSU-Pueblo. CMU won the final set, 25-16.
The Mavericks finished with 47 kills compared to the Thunderwolves’ 26. Edwards finished the game with a double-double with 16 kills and 12 digs, while Hattie Gianinetti added 11 kills. Ali Svorinic ended the game with 36 assists.
The next day the Mavs played against New Mexico Highlands (NMHU) Cowgirls. The match began with the Mavs winning the first four points. CMU was coasting, 11-5, before the Cowgirls called timeout.
New Mexico Highlands then rattled off five straight points to be behind only one point, 11-10 Then the Cowgirls won eight out of the next 10 points to take a 16-14 lead.
The Mavs then in turn called timeout. The Mavs were able to tie the Cowgirls for the next few points, but could not distance themselves.
When the score was tied 19 all, the Mavs then scored three straight points and did not look back. CMU won the set 25-20. The Mavs were able to capitalize on 11 Cowgirls errors in the set.
“They just made a nice run, they were serving us tough,” head coach Dave Fleming said. “We could not get the ball to our setter for four points, [NMHU] did a good job there. But we answered and figured it out and we were trying to force it a little bit and trying to be too perfect.”
“I don’t think we were that nervous about being down,” Edwards said. “We came together as a team to finish at the end and I think our energy became a lot better, so that helped us out.”
The second set began as a continuation of the end of the first set as the Mavs took advantage of NMHU errors and were ahead 8-3 before the Cowgirls called timeout. The timeout did not help the Cowgirls because the Mavs easily won the set, 25-15. The Cowgirls again had double digit errors with 12 in the set.
“In game two, we picked up our defense from 11 digs to 21 digs and that put some pressure on their attackers to do a little bit more,” Fleming said. “We started blocking a little bit better. We weren’t getting a lot of stuffed blocks, but we were taking away what they wanted to hit.”
The third and final set began with CMU and NMHU trading points back and forth. The match was close with the Mavericks clinging to a 15-13 lead, but the team ended the game with a 10-2 run to close out the match. CMU won the final set, 25-15.
Edwards finished with another double-double with 13 kills and 10 digs.
“The sets were awesome today and our defense and our passing was really good and it all comes from those contributions to my hitting,” Edwards said.
Gianinetti added nine kills and Svorinic finished with 34 of the team’s 37 assists.
The Mavericks record with the wins now stands at 13-3 and 7-1 in RMAC.
CMU’s next home games are up against two of the top teams in the RMAC. The Mavs play Colorado Christian at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14, and then they face off against Colorado School of Mines, who have an 8-0 record in the RMAC, at 4 p.m. Saturday.
“It’s going to be a tougher weekend because we have to deal with Christian and Mines coming in,” Fleming said. “They are in the top half of the RMAC and it’s going to be challenging, but fun.”
