DENVER – The Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team hoisted the RMAC Cup on Saturday night after defeating MSU Denver 3-1 in the 2019 RMAC Tournament Championship match on the Roadrunners' home court inside the Auraria Event Center.
 
Abby Tiesman was named the RMAC Tournament MVP after leading all players with 22 kills while adding nine digs and hitting .340. Amanda Donais earned RMAC All-Tournament honors thanks to a 13-kill, 18-dig double-double in the championship match. Elle Duis joined her teammate on the all-tournament team on the merits of 33 digs over four sets. Stokes made it a trio of Orediggers named all-tournament thanks to 56 assists, four kills and seven digs while hitting .500. On offense, Rose Stuewe also added 13 kills. On defense, April Jergensen joined the double-digit party with 13 digs. Additionally, Lindsey Jin added two service aces in the victory.
 
The victory gives Mines (23-6) the RMAC's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Tournament and extends its winning streak to eight straight matches. The Orediggers overcame 13 MSU Denver (23-7) blocks to earn the win. Despite hitting just .199 on the night, Mines used 95 digs as a team and a strong presence at the net to keep the Roadrunners at .191 on the attack. Overall, the Orediggers produced more kills, more points, more assists and more digs than the opposition. Both teams were tied in service aces at four apiece and MSU Denver dominated the block, 13-4.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Long before Saturday's match ever started, adversity reared its ugly head. A gas leak inside Regis Fieldhouse forced a venue change that put the championship showdown on MSU Denver's home court. However, Mines chose to embrace adversity all through the night. It started in the opening set when the Orediggers fell into an 18-10 deficit. Mines used a 4-0 run to get back into the game, fueled by two Roadrunner errors and kills from Tiesman and Stokes. MSU Denver responded with a run of its own to make it 21-14, but the visitors would not give up. The Orediggers clawed back to 23-18 and then exploded with a 7-1 run to tie the match. That spurt featured contributions from nearly everyone on the court. As the opening set entered extra points, it would be Donais from Stokes and Stokes from Tiesman that gave Mines the 1-0 lead by a score of 28-26.
 
In the second set, Mines trailed early once again and could not bounce back. MSU Denver used a 25-20 win to even the match at one set apiece. The Orediggers responded powerfully in the third frame. After dropping the first point, Mines raced out to a 7-3 lead. While it appeared the set was in hand, MSU Denver eventually tied it at 18-18 and again at 21-21. Once again, the Orediggers had an answer. Donais and Tiesman combined for three kills over the last four points and a Jin block made it a 4-0 run to win the game, 25-22.
 
Despite leading the match 2-1, the final set of the night was no walk in the park. It featured seven ties and five lead changes. MSU Denver even led 14-10 at one point. However, the trio of Tiesman, Donais and Duis put the team on its back and led the Orediggers to victory. In that final set, Tiesman turned out seven kills. Duis pumped out seven digs and Donais produced five kills and eight digs in the 26-24, match-clinching win.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines is now 14-14 against MSU Denver with Jamie Magalei as head coach with a record of 2-0 against the Roadrunners in 2019.
- Friday marked the Orediggers' third RMAC Tournament title in program history and first since 2016.
- Under Magalei, Mines is now 17-9 in the RMAC Tournament and 11-2 since 2015.
- Tiesman moved over to 400 kills on the season with 22 against the Roadrunners.
- Elle Duis' 33 digs are a career high for the sophomore and rank #6 on Mines' all-time, single-match performances.
- Due to Regis' gas leak, the fourth-seeded Orediggers defeated both the #1 and #2 seeds in the tournament on their respective home courts.
- Between the regular season and RMAC Tournament, Mines has won eight straight conference titles.
- Donais' double-double marks the ninth of her career as a sophomore.
- Head coach Jamie Magalei is 278-93 in 12 seasons at the helm.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines awaits the NCAA Tournament selection show, set to air on Monday at 5:30 p.m., to find out its seed in the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament. Seeding and NCAA Tournament information 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. Fans can also follow Mines Volleyball on Twitter using the handle @MinesVolleyball.