Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 How It Happened
Nationally eighth-ranked Colorado School of Mines (4-0) pulled off a clean sweep on the final day of the 2015 Oredigger Classic by defeating both Midwestern State (1-3) and No. 19 Cal State San Bernardino (3-1) by the identical finals of 3-1 on Saturday, September 5 in Lockridge Arena.
In both games the Orediggers dug out of early 1-0 holes to defeat MSU by the final of 21-25, 25-15, 25-13, 25-17 and then against CSUSB 18-25, 25-21, 25-22, 26-24.
In the opener against the Mustangs, Mines came out sluggish as they fell behind by as much as 10 (18-8) before eventually finding its footing to drop the opening set by only four points. From there, it was all Colorado School of Mines as they blitzed Midwestern State over the next three sets to cruise to victory.
The competition ratcheted up several notches when it came time to take on the Wolves in the night cap. CSU San Bernardino jumped all over the home standing Orediggers in the opening frame by pounding out 21 kills. CSUSB's Jayann DeHoog and Alexandra Torline were particularly strong with 15 assists and seven kills, respectively.
Mines answered back with authority in the second set as the team hit .520 for the frame with only three errors. They followed that by taking a nip-and-tuck third set that didn't see CSM pull away until the very end. Kills by sophomore Ellie Monarch and junior Alanna Winfield capped the third set victory.
CSUSB wouldn't go away quietly into the night though as they battled all the way to the wire in the fourth set. Mines appeared as though it was going to finish the game off when it took a 22-18 lead, but the Wolves responded with a quick 4-0 run to knot the game up.
With the fourth frame tied at 24, an attack error by San Bernardino's Torline and then an emphatic kill by senior Frannie Cormier gave Mines the set, 26-24, and made the team a perfect 4-0 for the tournament.
Notables
- With the victory over No. 19 CSU San Bernardino, Colorado School of Mines defeated two nationally ranked teams on the weekend. Yesterday they defeated No. 20 Northwest Nazarene.
- CSM hit as a team a solid .314 on the afternoon with 14.1 kills per set.
- Mines also averaged 14.1 assists per set while their opponents posted 11.8 per frame.
- Winfield was the star of today's two victories as she netted 18 kills on a .586-attacking percentage against MSU and then drilled 16 more on a .438 clip in the CSUSB win. She also had a combined nine blocks.
- Monarch, Winfield and Cormier were the only three CSM's players to crack double-digit kills in both games.
- Senior Danielle Johnson-Hazlewood had a combined 103 assists on the day.
Up Next
CSM is back in action next Friday and Saturday, September 11-12 as they head east to Indianapolis, Ind. for the University of Indianapolis Tournament. Mines will play Minnesota Duluth and UIndy on day one before closing with Wheeling Jesuit and Ashland on Saturday morning.
