GUNNISON, Colo.  Seyun Park knocked down 12 kills and added a solo block to go along with four block assists, but Western Colorado wasn't able to get past No. 12 Colorado Mesa University as the Mavericks notched a 3-0 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference win in the Mountaineers' home opener Friday night.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Colorado Mesa def. Western, 3-0 (25-19, 25-11, 25-22)
Records: Western 2-7 (0-1 RMAC), CMU 9-0 (1-0)
Location: Paul Wright Gym, Gunnison, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Knotted at 20-20 in the third set, Western was looking to take the game and extend the match with Olive Rolseth's solo block that tied things up. It was the sixth tie in the set and had the Mountaineers on the edge of earning the set victory.
• The Mavs inched back in front on the next point, but Park evened things up again for the seventh tie score.
• Consecutive Mesa points heightened the desperation on the Mountaineer side of the court, but Maggie Olson's kill calmed things down and drew Western back to within a point, 23-22.
• The night would end soon, however, as Mesa earned a kill to set up match point, which they picked up on one final attacking error.
• The Mountaineers played tough in the opening set, never leading but hanging within three or four points of the Mavs for the entirety of the set. Mesa's .312 attack percentage, though, eventually won out over Western's .162 hitting percentage.
• The battle put up by Western in the opening set was highlighted by a mid-set string of defensive blocks as Park had two in a row, the first assisted by Nur Turkmenoglu who also put down a second-touch kill for the next point. Then Park and Rolseth combined for another block that tied the score at 12-12 before a 7-2 Maverick run would give the visitors the momentum again.

NET NOTES

• This was the second consecutive match in which Park registered double digits on the attack, coming after the 16 she had in a match against Bemidji (Minn.) State.
• The Mountaineers made things difficult at the net for the Mavs, ringing up a total of 8.0 blocks on the night, led by Park. Turkmenoglu added three block assists, Kennedy Kelly added two, while Miya Alvarado and Rolseth each had one solo and one block assist.
• Adding to the defensive efforts on the night were Rolseth and Olson, who scooped up 14 and 13 digs, respectively, to lead Western.
• Rolseth and Olson were targeted by Mesa serves, but the strategy didn't pay off for the Mavs as Rolseth came up clean on receptions 28 of 29 times, and Olson was good on 18 of 19 receptions.

UP NEXT
Western entertains Westminster University Saturday at 6 p.m. in Paul Wright Gym on Code Red Night for the Mountaineers and their fans.