Through a tough weekend, the Mavericks found some ways to shine even though they went 1-3. CMU is searching for their identity early in this season, and if they don’t find it soon, the season could be different than what was initially planned.
“I didn’t schedule this tournament to go 1-3, but I think we have the physical ability to compete with these teams, we just are not doing it. I don’t think anybody is happy,” Head Coach Dave Fleming said.
Kasie Gilfert lead the team in total kills over the weekend with 44 through four games, followed by Katie Scherr with 30.
CMU’s Ara Norwood led the team in assists with 63, and Layman led the team in digs with 56.
CMU’s first game of the tournament was against the host, Drury University, and the Panthers were ready for the matchup as they swept the Mavericks 3-0. CMU didn’t get the start they wanted to against Drury as they had just a .091 hitting percentage in the match, and Camille Smith went down with an injury and couldn’t play the rest of the tournament.
The Mavericks just didn’t look like their usual selves against the Panthers as they didn’t break 20 points in any of the sets. CMU was looking to respond in a big way against Truman State University, and they did just that.
CMU came into their 8 a.m. game on Friday against the Truman Bulldogs and won 3-0 to rebound nicely. Layman’s 27 digs and Katie Scherr’s 5 digs and 10 kills helped CMU bring their hitting percentage up to .204, and if they can bring that up just a little bit higher, they can go on a big run in the season.
The first set was hard fought by both teams, as the Mavericks scored the first two points, but TSU was quick to answer with two of their own. The turning point in the set was when the Bulldogs went on a five-point run, but CMU took the momentum and turned it into a six-point run of their own to win the set.
The second set was a battle for momentum as both teams exchanged points back and forth. CMU had a big point streak early in the match to take control of the set, and they had another run to win the set 25-22. The third set was all Mavericks as they jumped out to an early lead, and they had multiple big runs that resulted in them winning the set 25-21. The Bulldogs gave up four attack errors in a row to end the game and give the Mavericks the win.
“Kerstin [Layman] is really good at what she does, she allows us to run our middles and that doesn’t even show in the stats, and I think she is one of the better defenders at both the tournaments we have been to.” Fleming said, “When we struggled, I think she was trying to do much, so that is something we have got to fix, but she is a first-year starter at that position as well, so I think the ability is there, we just have to figure it out with the team.”
In their third game of the tournament, the Mavericks played No.18 Northwest Missouri State University and got swept by another ranked opponent. CMU was led in kills by freshman Maranda Theleus and Scherr who each had nine.
In the final game of the Drury Invitational for CMU, they played against Missouri Western State University, and unfortunately got swept by the Griffons. Kasie Gilfert in her one set played had 16 kills against this Griffons team, but it wasn’t enough to spark momentum in her team.
The first set was fought hard by both teams as they exchanged points back and forth as they fought for early momentum in this game. The Mavericks had the lead late in this set, but the Griffons fought hard and was able to come back and win the set 25-23.
The second set was started by the Mavericks, but the Griffons came on strong after the initial point by CMU, as MWSU went on an 8-1 to put them up 10-5. CMU tried to claw their way back into the set, but they couldn’t get the momentum swing that they wanted as they lose the set 16-25. The Mavericks were just on their heels in the third set as they couldn’t gather themselves as they lost the third set 19-25 to end their weekend 1-3 and bring their overall to 4-4.
In 2018, CMU was swept in straight sets only once but so far this year, three of their four losses have been sweeps.
“I think we need to be more consistent, I think everybody on the floor tonight has the ability to go compete with the best teams in the country like Northwest Missouri State and Northern State, we just aren’t consistent enough, and part of that is youth, and part of that is being prepared,” Fleming said.
The Mavericks next game will be Friday Sept 20 as they begin conference play against New Mexico Highlands University.
