PUEBLO, Colo. – The #22-ranked Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team was efficient in its sweep of CSU-Pueblo Saturday as the Orediggers took down the ThunderWolves inside Massari Arena for their 11th straight win.
 
Drew Stokes was surgical at setter for Mines with 44 assists over three sets of action. Lindsey Jin, Abby Tiesman and Taylor Hicken benefited most from Stokes' precision as the trio combined for 36 kills. Lindsey Jin led all players with 13 kills while hitting .370 and three total blocks. Tiesman racked up 12 kills on 21 attempts with four total blocks of her. Hicken turned in her second straight double-digit performance, knocking down 11 kills with a hitting percentage of .400.
 
On defense, libero Elle Duis was stalwart for the Orediggers, grinding out 12 digs. Amanda Donais was not far behind with 10 digs of her own. Mines finished the three-set affair with nine total blocks, including six solo stuffs.
 
Mines (17-2, 11-0 RMAC) limited the ThunderWolves to a hitting percentage of .138 in the match. CSU-Pueblo (4-16, 2-7 RMAC) managed just three total blocks as it allowed the Orediggers to hit .362 as a team in the ThunderWolves seventh straight loss.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Tiesman came out of the gate on fire for Mines with six of her 12 kills in the opening set. The Orediggers never trailed in the first game, hitting .366 as a team with two blocks as they rolled to a 25-13 win and a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
In the second set, Hicken led the team with four kills while Tiesman, Donais and Lindsey Jin chipped in three kills each. However, the story right before intermission was Mines' six blocks to hold CSU-Pueblo to an attacking percentage of .057 in the set. The Orediggers' defense allowed the team to get away hitting .281 in the 25-19 victory as Mines headed into the break with a 2-0 match lead.
 
The final set proved to big the biggest battle of the afternoon. CSU-Pueblo came out firing as the ThunderWolves hit a match-best .303 in the third game. The visitors from Golden answered back with their best offensive performance of the contest, hitting .438 as a team. Four kills apiece from Lindsey and Janice Jin in the third game clinched Mines' three-set triumph.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines is 27-34 in the all-time series against CSU-Pueblo
- The Orediggers are 9-0 against the ThunderWolves since 2012.
- Mines has not lost a match since Sept. 1 in Indianapolis.
- The Orediggers have recorded 10 sweeps in 2018.
- Mines is the only team in the RMAC with an unblemished record in conference play.
- Tiesman has double-digit kills in four of her last five appearances.
- Tiesman's four total blocks Saturday put her over 200 blocks in her Oredigger career.
- Stokes surpassed 800 assists for the season against CSU-Pueblo.
- Head coach Jamie Magalei is 248-83 in 11 seasons at Mines.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines hosts Colorado Christian Friday at 7 p.m. inside Lockridge Arena. Live stats and video of the match will be available at www.minesathletics.com.
 
Keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all season long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.