Box Score How It Happened
It wasn't pretty at times, but the result is all that matters as #18 Colorado School of Mines (25-5, 16-2) pulled out a hard fought 3-1 (19-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-14) victory over Regis University in the semifinals of the RMAC Tournament on Friday, November 20.
The win sends Mines into the RMAC Championship Match where they will face second-seeded Colorado Mesa here in Golden tomorrow afternoon at 5 p.m. The Mavericks defeated No. 3 seed MSU Denver, 3-1, earlier in the evening.
Championship Saturday didn't look quite as promising in the opening set as Regis – dominated by Mines only a week ago – came out on fire and took a commanding 22-14 lead. After a timeout, Mines found its bearing and rattled off five straight points to get within three, but it wasn't enough as they fell 25-19.
The bit of a momentum CSM found at the end of that opening frame carried over into the second set where they blasted Regis, 25-15, and hit .333 as a team to square the match at 1-1. Three Mines players each had four kills in the set.
Now with both teams having gotten the better of the other, the third set was an absolute barnburner that saw six lead changes and 20 ties. Both teams also hit extremely well in the set, but Mines finally got some breathing room when a service error by RU then an ace by junior Taryn Huber finally gave them a 20-18 lead. A pair of kills by senior Frannie Cormier later on put the game on ice to give Mines the decisive 25-22 victory.
The loss seemed to deflate the Rangers and energize the Orediggers as Mines totally dismantled Regis, 25-14, in the final game to send Lockridge Arena into a frenzy, and send CSM to the title game.
Notables
- Mines now advances to the RMAC Championship Match for the first time since 2012 seeking their first ever RMAC Tournament Championship.
- The Orediggers swept the season series against Regis, 3-0, by winning all three games by the final of 3-1.
- After a poor hitting first set, CSM bounced back to hit .260 for the game. The Orediggers hit over .300 in the second and third set, and finished off with .452 showing in the fourth.
- For the third time this season, Mines had four players hit double-digits in kills. Junior Alanna Winfield and senior Megan Peterson each had a game-high 15.
- After receiving her RMAC Player and Setter of the Year awards before the match, senior Danielle Johnson-Hazlewood put up a monster game of 40 assists, 12 digs, five kills, four blocks and three service aces. Her five kills came on six attacks for a game-high .833 attacking percentage.
- Junior libero Taryn Huber produced her eighth straight game of double-digit digs with tonight's game-high 23.
They Said It
"With blocking, it's definitely a team effort. Containing [Katie] Klein on the right side was one of our goals coming in, and I definitely think the pins stepped up which made it easier to my job." – said senior Megan Peterson on blocking against Regis' Katie Klein.
"It's really nice once we do get in a rhythm. Regis is a great team, and it took us awhile to find their openings, but once we did find what was working – we stuck to it. It's really comforting knowing you have such big hitters that you can trust. Even if it's not a perfect set, they will find a way to score." – said senior Danielle Johnson-Hazlewood.
