GOLDEN, Colo. – The Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team opened its 2019 campaign on Friday in dominant fashion with a pair of 3-0 victories over Dallas Baptist and Lubbock Christian inside Lockridge Arena on day one of the 15th Annual Oredigger Volleyball Classic.
 
The Orediggers came out with a balanced attack on both sides of the ball as proven by multiple outstanding performances. On offense, Abby Tiesman racked up 23 kills over the two matches while hitting .500. Taylor Hicken also combined for more than 20 kills as she finished with 21 at a .304 clip. Amanda Donais and Lindsey Jin added 20 kills apiece with Donais posting a hitting percentage of .528 on the day. The entire offense was coordinated by Drew Stokes who tossed up 89 total assists and also added eight kills and two service aces. Defensively, Mines combined for 12 total blocks with six from Tiesman, five from Hicken and four apiece from Jin and Stokes. The back row was anchored by Danielle Mullen and Elle Duis. That duo combined for 45 digs in six sets of action.
 
As a team, the Orediggers (2-0) posted an overall hitting percentage of .357 for the day, putting up 104 kills compared to just 60 from the opposition. Mines' defense held its opponents to a total hitting percentage of .159 thanks to the previously mentioned 12 blocks and 96 digs compared to just 68 on the other side of the net. The host's two victories dropped Dallas Baptist and Lubbock Christian both to 0-2 to start their own seasons.
 
Match One – Mines 3 (25, 25, 25), Dallas Baptist 0 (17, 18, 20)
The Orediggers' foe from the Lone Star Conference came out strong and opened the match with a 5-1 run for the early advantage. Dallas Baptist held its lead all the way up to 7-5 before Mines' offense kicked into high gear, running off four unanswered points for an 8-7 lead. Then, Hicken sparked a 5-0 run that featured her own kill, a service ace from Elle Duis, a block from Tiesman and Donais followed by a kill from Donais. That run was the spark Mines' needed as it cruised to a 25-17 win and a 1-0 lead behind three total blocks and a .485 hitting percentage. Donais finished the set hitting 1.000 with five kills on five attempts.
 
Mines would not slow down after its opening-set win. In fact, the Orediggers never trailed in the second game, relying on their defense which held the Lady Patriots to a measly mark of .083 on the attack. Tiesman and Megan Neil each contributed four kills as the home team took a 2-0 advantage by a score of 25-18. An early lead for DBU in the final frame would be too little too late. Despite trailing 9-5 early, Mines would chip its way back for a 25-20 win and the victory. Dallas Baptist only managed nine kills and a hitting percentage of .048 in the third set.
 
Individual highlights from the first match included 44 assists from Stokes, 12 kills by the hand of Hicken, and 10 more each from Jin and Donais. Mullen was stellar on defense with 16 digs, and Stokes and Hicken added a trio of blocks apiece. The score was tied 10 times throughout the opening affair, but the lead only changed hands three times.
 
Match Two – Mines 3 (25, 25, 25), Lubbock Christian 0 (16, 21, 23)
The second match of the day was all Orediggers from the very first serve. Tiesman and Jin handed their squad a 3-0 lead in the first set with two kills while teaming up on a block. While the Lady Chaps battled back with a 4-0 run, their 6-5 lead would be their only advantage of the night. The visitors managed just 10 more points in the entire set while Mines hit .375 and added three blocks on defense. Five kills from Tiesman and four from Hicken helped the Orediggers run away with a 25-16 win and a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
Not much changed in the second game with Mullen serving Mines to a 4-0 lead. The Orediggers took that momentum and turned it into a balanced attack with three kills in the set from Jin, Tiesman, Stokes and Hicken. However, Donais was the second frame's all-star, knocking down five kills on six attempts with no errors while pushing Mines to a 25-21 tally and a commanding 2-0 lead.
 
With a 10-0 lead in the final go-around, the match seemed all but over. However, LCU would make things interesting by clawing back within two points, 22-20. It was not meant to be. The Lady Chaps hurt themselves with a service error, and Donais teamed up with Stokes to finish it off by a score of 25-23. The final tally reflected double digit kills from Tiesman (14), Jin (10) and Donais (10) with 45 more assists from Stokes. Mines' stifling defense benefited from Jin and Tiesman racking up four blocks each.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines has recorded a perfect start to the season in six consecutive years, going 2-0 every season since 2014.
- The Orediggers are now 20-2 in their own tournament since 2014 and 47-12 all time.
- Mines has only dropped one set on opening day dating back to 2016.
- Friday marked the third meeting between the Mines and Dallas Baptist in the Oredigger Volleyball Classic. The hosts are 3-0 in that series.
- Tiesman's five assisted blocks on Friday put her over 200 block assists for her career.
- True freshman Audrey Richard made her Oredigger debut with nine digs and one assist in six sets.+
- Elle Duis now has 101 assists in her career.
- Stokes, in addition to her impressive assist numbers, recorded the 50th block of her career and went over 200 digs for her career in the season openers.
- Head coach Jamie Magalei is 258-87 in 12 seasons at Mines.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines closes its home tournament Saturday with matches against Alaska Fairbanks and #8 Northern State at 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., respectively. 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.