The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs slipped into a tie for second place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's Western Division with a 3-0 (30-26, 30-29, 30-22) loss to the Mesa State Mavericks in Grand Junction Saturday.

Nikki Kneuer had 20 kills and 17 assists to lead Mesa State (20-5, 13-4 RMAC).

The Mountain Lions are now tied with New Mexico Highlands with a 12-5 conference record. UCCS is 16-10 overall.

Kelley Angel led the Mountain Lions with eight kills and four assisted blocks. Andrea Weedman keyed the defense with 18 digs.

Game 1 was tied at eight when Mesa State put together a 10-4 run. Three kills by Angel helped the Mountain Lions close to 19-18. Shortly afterward, a Jill Wrenn kill gave UCCS a 24-23 lead. With the game tied at 26, Mesa State got kills by Kneuer, Krista Bellman and Drew Choules and an ace by Allison Krug to close it out.

Mesa State opened Game 2 with a 5-0 lead but UCCS stormed back, closing to 5-4 on a Stephanie Laband ace. The Mavericks scored five of the next six points, however, and UCCS was unable to get closer than four after that.

UCCS hit -.079 in Game 3 as Mesa State completed the sweep.