COLORADO SPRINGS – The Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team closed its time at the Mountain Lion Invitational on Saturday with a perfect 4-0 record for the weekend thanks to wins over Emporia State and Angelo State.
 
While eyes are always drawn to offense, it was Elle Duis' 41 digs that highlighted the day. The sophomore libero accomplished the feat in seven sets which put her at nearly 7.0 digs per set. Danielle Mullen was also solid in the back row, putting up 18 digs in seven sets. Offensively, Abby Tiesman racked up 33 kills and hit over .500 in both matches while adding nine total blocks on defense as well. Megan Neil added 19 kills and three blocks over the two contests while Rose Stuewe and Taylor Hicken contributed 15 kills apiece.
 
Mines (7-1) finished an undefeated weekend while dropping just one set in the process. Emporia state fell to 4-4 after its loss to the Orediggers. Additionally, Mines dealt Angelo State its first defeat of the season. The Orediggers held Emporia State to a hitting percentage of .136 while also out performing ASU .292-.229 on the attack. The Mountain Lion Invitational All-Tournament team is slated to be announced late Saturday evening.
 
Match One – Mines 3 (25, 25, 21, 25), Emporia State 1 (16, 16, 25, 14)
The Orediggers were in complete control through the first two games, posting identical scores of 25-16 to take 2-0 lead in the match. In fact, Mines trailed only once through the first 82 points and that was at 1-0 to start the second set. However, Emporia State was determined to avoid the sweep and used a 5-0 run late in the third frame to help clinch a 25-21 win to make it 2-1. That would be all for the Hornets as the Orediggers closed out game four on a 13-3 run to cement the victory.
 
The star of the match was Tiesman who accounted for 22 of Mines' 69 kills while hitting .571. She also added six blocks, two service aces and two digs to her resume. Neil and Stuewe complimented their teammate's performance with 11 kills apiece. Elle Duis's 21 digs anchored the defense at a clip over 5.0 digs per set while Stokes handed out another 59 assists. Additionally, April Jergensen notched three service aces in the victory.
 
Match Two – Mines 1 (31), Angelo State 0 (29)
The first set of the match proved to be the toughest. Angelo State led by as many as four points with a 14-10 advantage midway through the game. Mines never led by more than one point until the final tally and used a 5-0 run to make it 16-15 in favor of the Rambelles. That led to both teams trading points down the stretch with the final result coming courtesy of an attacking error and a dump kill from Stokes. Tiesman finished the opening round with six kills while hitting .385. Duis added five digs and Stokes had 16 assists with two service aces. Mines found the victory despite hitting just .157 compared to ASU's .306. There were nine total service errors in the opening game.
 
Following the marathon victory, it was relatively smooth sailing for the Orediggers. Mines never trailed in game two and cruised to a 25-16 thanks to a team attacking percentage of .353 and eight digs courtesy of Elle Duis. Defensively, the Orediggers held the Rambelles to .094 on the attack. That led to the decisive third frame in which Mines trailed briefly due to an Angelo State 4-0 run. The Orediggers used a late, 5-0 run of their own to claim a 25-20 set win and the match victory. Elle Duis notched five more digs and Mines hit .455 as a team with zero errors on the attack. Both teams had 10 kills but the difference proved to be five attacking errors from ASU.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines now boasts the best overall record in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings, prior to the start of RMAC play.
- The last time the Orediggers swept Angelo State was Sept. 8, 2012.
- Tiesman finished her weekend with 63 kills in 13 sets and never hit under .400 in any match. She is now over 100 kills on the season and nearing 900 for her career.
- Stuewe's 11 kills against Emporia State mark an early career high for the true freshman and her first time in double digits.
- Elle Duis closed out the Mountain Lion Invite with 56 digs in 13 sets and has surpassed 100 digs for the season and has more than 600 in her career.
- Stokes surged to 366 assists on the season with her performance on Saturday. She is now averaging 13.56 assists per set which would rank #1 in NCAA Division II prior to the weekend's competitions.
- Mines is up to 34 service aces on the season compared just 17 from the opposition.
- The Orediggers are also out-hitting their opponents .287-.182 with 431 kills compared to 290.
- Head coach Jamie Magalei is 263-88 in 12 seasons at Mines.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Orediggers open RMAC play on Friday, hosting Colorado Christian 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. Fans can also follow Mines Volleyball on Twitter using the handle @MinesVolleyball.