GOLDEN, Colo. - #16 Colorado School of Mines claimed a share of its fifth RMAC regular-season title, dispatching Chadron State 3-0 (25-15, 25-23, 25-10) in the regular-season finale Saturday.
The Orediggers (23-4, 17-1 RMAC) finished tied atop the league standings with Regis, with the Rangers claiming the RMAC Tournament's #1 seed by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreak. Mines will enter the tournament as the #2 seed and host seventh-seeded Adams State in a quarterfinal Tuesday at 7 p.m.
The Eagles (10-17, 7-11 RMAC) were held to .037 hitting for the match as Mines hit .290, including .414 in the third, to run away with the match.
Marina Hansen put up 41 assists with six digs to power the offense as
Madeline Behr hit for a match-high 12 kills (.320) and Lindsey Jin had 11 (.346).
Janice Jin had eight kills and 12 digs while
LaRose Currie produced 10 digs at libero.
Mines cruised through the first set to win 25-15, but Chadron played tough in the second, tightening the set after Mines took a 19-13 lead with four of the next five points. Back-to-back Lindsey Jin kills put some space in the scoreline, however, and Mines closed it out on kills by
Ellie Monarch and
Abby Tiesman to win 25-23. Mines then ended the match with an incredible serving run by
Janice Jin, leading 17-10 before Jin served out the final eight points to win 25-10.
All five of Mines' RMAC regular-season titles have come since 2012. The Orediggers have topped the conference in five of the last six seasons.
