Colorado Christian vs. Colorado Mesa
Tuesday, Nov. 16 | 7:00 p.m.
Grand Junction, CO (Brownson Arena)

• Since 2000, the Mavericks hold an 18-7 edge in the all-time series
• Colorado Mesa has won the last five matches vs. the Cougars
• The last win in Grand Junction for Colorado Christian came in 2013

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Week in Review

Colorado Christian split their final regular season matches as they dropped a three-set contest to CSU Pueblo on Friday evening before topping UCCS in five sets on Saturday evening.  The Cougars secured their RMAC tournament berth with the win vs. the Mountain Lions.

2021 RMAC Tournament Information 

The eight-team event begins on Tuesday evening at the site of each of the top four seeds. The semifinals and finals will be hosted by the highest remaining seed after the quarterfinal round is complete.

Colorado Christian won the tiebreaker against Western Colorado to secure the sixth seed. Both teams had the same RMAC record and split their regular season match-up by the same three-set result. The Cougars set winning percentage in RMAC matches was better than Western Colorado's. It was the fourth tiebreaker. 

(RMAC Record in Parenthesis)

Quarterfinals - Tuesday, Nov. 16  
Match 1 - #8 New Mexico Highlands (7-11) at #1 MSU Denver (18-0) - 7 p.m.
Match 2 - #5 CSU Pueblo (13-5) at #4 Regis (15-3) - 7 p.m.
Match 3 - #6 Colorado Christian (8-10) at #3 Colorado Mesa (15-3) - 7 p.m.
Match 4 - #7 Western Colorado (8-10) at #2 Colorado School of Mines (16-2) - 7 p.m.

Semifinals - Friday, Nov. 19
Match 5 - Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2
Match 6 - Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4

Championship - Saturday, Nov. 20
Match 7 - Winner Match 5 vs. Winner Match 6

CCU at the RMAC Tournament

Colorado Christian has now been to the league's post-season tournament in five of the last six seasons. A brief glimpse of those results. During this stretch, the highest seed the Cougars achieved was fourth in 2017.
 

YEAR	OPPONENT	RESULT
2020-21	MSU Denver (QF)	L, 3-1
2018	Colorado Mesa (QF)	L, 3-0
2017	UCCS (QF)	W, 3-1
	Regis (SF)	L, 3-0
2016	UCCS (QF)	L, 3-1

Individuals Successes

• On the outside, Breanna Allen has registered at least 10 kills in 13 of the last 14 matches. Twice she has notched a 20-kill performance
• In her second match back in the line-up, Libby Goodman tallied 22 kills and .396 hitting effort vs. UCCS | She tallied 10 kills alone in the first set
• Izzy Jones has a double-double in four straight matches
• Madelyn Long has at least 20 digs in six of the last eight matches

Road Trips vs. Home Sweet Home

During the season, the Cougars have played nine home matches and 10 true road contests. There are some striking differences when the squad is the home team vs. when they play on the road
 

CATEGORY	HOME	ROAD
Hitting Percentage	.231	.169
Service Aces Per Set	1.88	1.20
Digs Per Set	13.12	14.10
Blocks Pet Set	2.32	1.80

Statistically Speaking

Top RMAC Team Rankings
Blocks Per Set: 4th - 2.04
Service Aces Per Set: 5th - 1.52
Team Hitting Percentage: 7th - .193
Kills Per Set: 10th - 11.75

Top RMAC Individual Rankings
Kills Per Set: Libby Goodman, 2nd - 3.54 | Breanna Allen, 5th - 3.37
Digs Per Set: Madelyn Long, 4th - 4.35
Assists Per Set: Izzy Jones, 6th - 9.15
Blocks Per Set: Lilly Woods, 5th - 0.97
Service Aces Per Set: Mackenzie Close, 11th - 0.34
Hitting Percentage: Lilly Woods, 13th - .280


Double (Double) Your Pleasure

The Cougars have tallied a double-double on 10 occasions this season:

Breanna Allen vs. Midwestern State (18 Kills, 11 Digs)
Breanna Allen vs. Adams State (20 Kills, 11 Digs)
Breanna Allen vs. UUCS (17 Kills, 15 Digs)
Izzy Jones vs. Adams State (45 Assists, 10 Digs)
Izzy Jones vs. Adams State (38 Assists, 14 Digs)
Izzy Jones vs. Fort Lewis (33 Assists, 11 Digs)
Izzy Jones vs. Western Colorado (22 Assists, 17 Digs)
Izzy Jones vs. CSU Pueblo (31 Assists, 13 Digs)
Izzy Jones vs. UCCS (53 Assists, 13 Digs
Alli Douglass vs. New Mexico Highlands (17 Kills, 13 Digs)

Glancing at the Top 25

In this week's AVCA National Poll, a trio of RMAC schools are ranked in the top 25. MSU Denver is currently ranked first in the country with Colorado School of Mines coming in at the 10th spot. The Roadrunners are garnering 46 of a possible 47 first place votes; Washburn (KS) is getting the other first-place vote. Regis checks-in this week at the No. 23 spot with Colorado Mesa receiving votes. 

RMAC Preseason Poll

The Cougars were picked to finish sixth in the preseason poll of the league's head coaches. Colorado Mesa were chosen as favorite in 2021 RMAC Volleyball Preseason Poll

2021 RMAC Volleyball Preseason Poll
1. Colorado Mesa (7) - 182
2. MSU Denver (3) - 174
3. Colorado School of Mines (3) - 172
4. Regis (1) - 156
5. CSU Pueblo - 144
6. Colorado Christian - 125
7. South Dakota Mines - 98
T8. UCCS - 93
T8. Western Colorado - 93
10. Black Hills State - 88
11. Fort Lewis - 87
12. Chadron State - 61
13. Westminster - 44
14. Adams State (1) - 43
15. New Mexico Highlands - 15

Head Coach - Bobby Blanken

The 2021 season will be Bobby Blanken's fifth as Colorado Christian's Head Volleyball Coach. In his first year, Coach Blanken led the team to a conference record of 14-4 which landed a 4th place conference finish which allowed the program to host a RMAC Tournament match for the first time.

During his five seasons with the Cougars he has coached eight all-conference players as well as an all-region and All-American player in Sophia Proano.

Before Colorado Christian, Blanken served MSU Denver's head assistant coach since 2014. In his three-year stint at MSU Denver, Blanken helped lead a very successful program that went 18-0 in the RMAC in 2016.

Prior to coaching at MSU Denver, Blanken was the Head Women's Volleyball Coach at The Master's College in Santa Clarita, CA from 2010-2014. During his time at The Master's College, Blanken successfully built the program from a 7-22 first year record to a No. 6 NAIA finish in his final year. Blanken was named the 2012 AVCA West Region Coach of the Year and 2012 Golden State Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. At The Master's College, Blanken totaled a record of 87-56 (.608).