DENVER, Colo. – BACK TO BACK! #23 Colorado School of Mines claimed its second consecutive RMAC Tournament Championship as they defeated #17 MSU Denver in four sets (25-18, 25-18, 19-25, 25-14) at the 2016 conference tournament at the Auraria Events Center.

In a matchup of the top two seeds in the RMAC Tournament, it was the second-seeded Orediggers (24-6) who looked like superior team and not regular season champion MSUD (25-4) who was playing at home. Mines hit .363 for the match and had four players reach double-digit kills. 

The reason that Orediggers were so dominant offensively was because Marina Hansen put together quite possibly her most complete performance of the season with 53 assists and seven digs. The junior from Yuma assisted on all but three of the team's 56 kills as she conducted the offense like a maestro of an orchestra – time and time again hitting the right note on which attacker to pass to. 

It was apparent early that Mines was hitting on all cylinders. The middle blocking duo of Ellie Monarch and Madeline Behr got the Orediggers off to a fast start as they combined for nine of the team's 15 kills in the opening set. Mines hit .519 as team as they cruised to a 25-18 victory in set #1. 

The Orediggers didn't cool off one iota in the second game as they broke an early 10-10 tie and turned it into a dominant 23-15 advantage before settling in with another 25-18 win. Behr threw down another four kills as Marina Hansen masterfully guided the offense to the tune of 13 assists. Through the first two frames Hansen posted 27 assists as she quickly imprinted her signature on the match. 

As masterfully as the Orediggers controlled the first two sets, MSU Denver controlled the third set, and never looked back as they won 25-19 to momentarily close the gap to two sets-to-one.

Then, seemingly like just flipping a light switch, Mines kicked the offense into high gear as they bludgeoned the Roadrunners to the tune of 25-14 to clinch the RMAC Tournament Championship. MSU Denver tried to stem the tide by calling both of their timeouts early, but by that point the Orediggers were already leading 14-5.

Notables
-    For their consistent performance throughout the tournament, LaRose Currie, Ellie Monarch and Janice Jin were named to the All-Tournament Team. Jin was also selected as the Tournament MVP as the Colorado Springs native averaged team bests of 3.31 k/s and .341 hitting.
-    LaRose Currie posted a double-double in all three games of the tournament with tonight producing a team-high 15 kills on .440 hitting to go along with 11 digs.
-    The middle blocking tandem of Ellie Monarch and Madeline Behr combined for 22 kills and four blocks. Behr also hit .440 for the match.
-    Taryn Huber reeled off a game-high 18 digs in the match.

Quotables
"I think this is the best we've played all year. I felt as though our offensive and defensive purpose was a little different than most matches. It showed us as a team what we are capable of against the best in the conference, and we hope to carry this into regionals." – said head coach Jamie Skadeland on the team's performance.

"Janice [Jin] is kind of our spite fire offensively. She has really turned it on here at the end of the season. We just throw the ball up to her, and she can hit to anywhere on the court. It's nice to see that when she has a closed double against her, she can the "T", she can hit the "5", she hit the "1"… she can hit anywhere she wants to. She's also developed some finesse to her game as well. We see some soft shots over the block, which is nice to see. Janice has really peaked at the right time." – Coach Skadeland on the play of RMAC Tournament MVP Janice Jin.

"Marina [Hansen] probably had the best game she has had all season as far as decisions, choices, who she was delivering the ball to and how she was delivering the ball. She has differently turned it on at the right time. This is a match we need to watch on film, and mimic that going into NCAAs." – said Coach Skadeland on the play of Marina Hansen.

"I think the biggest thing for me is just playing for our seniors. That's been my motto this entire time. I want to give them as much of me as I can. I never want to walk off the court thinking I didn't give enough." – said junior outside hitter LaRose Currie on her consistent play over the last two months.

"I think we have taken to the postseason like we have to leave it all on the court. We just want to give it all. With this being my senior year, we never know when the last game might be – when our career could be over – so we are just putting it all together when we need to be". – said senior right side Alanna Winfield.

Up Next
Mines now awaits to see its matchup at the South Central Region Tournament in two weeks. The NCAA Division II Volleyball Selection Show will be on Monday, November 21 at 5:30 p.m. MST.