DENVER, Colo. – The Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team return to the court on Sunday after more than 400 days away from competition and went 1-1 in a pair of four-set matches against Fort Lewis and MSU Denver inside the Auraria Event Center.
 
Taylor Hicken led the Orediggers in a 3-1 win over Fort Lewis and a 3-1 loss to MSU Denver with a total of 25 kills, six blocks, six digs and two service aces. Her kills and blocks both led the team. Rose Stuewe was right behind Hicken on offense, boasting 24 kills and eight sets while also notching two aces along with one block and nine digs. Defensively, Elle Duis led the charge on the merit of 46 digs through two matches. Duis also led the team with three service aces. Floor captain Drew Stokes put a bow on it all with 94 total assists, 17 digs, four kills and three blocks. She added one ace as well. Both Stokes and Amanda Donais had double-doubles on the day.
 
Mines (1-1, 1-1 RMAC) ended the RMAC pod hitting .206 as a team. The Orediggers earned their win over Fort Lewis (0-2, 0-2 RMAC) with a .262 efficiency, but fell to MSU Denver (2-0, 2-0 RMAC) after hitting just .139 on the attack. Mines produced more digs than their opponents, but was at a deficit in the service game and on the block. As one of eight teams in action on opening weekend, the Orediggers find themselves tied for fourth in the conference standings.
 
Match One – #19 Mines 3 (25, 21, 25, 32), Fort Lewis 1 (18, 25, 22, 30)
The Orediggers entered their first action of the 2020-21 school year against a much-improved Fort Lewis squad. Mines set the tone early by hitting .281 in the opening set and holding FLC to .182 on the attack. Four kills off the hand of Donais and 13 Stokes' assists guided the Orediggers to a 25-18 win and a 1-0 lead in the match. However, the Skyhawks' offense quickly stepped up and turned the tables in set two. Fort Lewis converted at a rate of .361 while Mines hit just .133 as FLC evened the match at 1-1.
 
Hicken stepped up in the third set as part of her best match of the day. Five kills on seven attempts and .571 hitting led the Orediggers' attack. On Defense, Donais and Hicken had two blocks each while Duis grinded out nine digs to help Mines take a 2-1 lead in a 25-22 win. That led the fourth set which proved to be the final frame, but it was anything but a blowout. The game rolled deep into extra points, when the dust settled, the Orediggers emerged victorious thanks to Stuewe's seven kills off of 21 assists from Stokes while Duis contributed six more digs. Those performances led Mines to a 1-0 start to the season.
 
Match Two – #19 Mines 1 (26, 20, 13, 19), MSU Denver 3 (24, 25, 25, 25)
The second match of the day provided a similar story line, but a different result. Mines came out firing and hit its way to a 26-24 win and a 1-0 lead in the opening set. Megan Neil and Stuewe were tops in the opening frame with five kills apiece while Hicken and Julia Eiken each added four. Overall, the Orediggers hit .244 to outpace MSU Denver who hit .233.
 
However, the next three sets exposed Mines' fatigue after a four-set affair earlier with less than an hour break between. MSU Denver proved why it was one of the favorites to win the conference crown. The Roadrunners used seven service aces to even the match in set two. In set three, the home squad flexed its defensive prowess with four blocks and rolled easily to a 25-13 win and 2-1 lead in the match. MSU Denver closed out the match in cruise control, needing to hit only .227 and knock down three blocks to earn the victory.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines owns 18 straight wins against Fort Lewis.
- The Orediggers haven't lost to the Skyhawks since Sept. 29, 2007.
- Additionally Mines has dropped just two sets to FLC in the last 11 years.
- The Orediggers' loss to MSU Denver is just their first in the last four meetings. Mines is 6-4 over the last 10 matchups with the Roadrunners.
- True freshmen Shannon Perna and Madeleine Nightengale-Luhan both made their collegiate debuts at Sunday's pod.
- Perna produced nine digs, eight kills, two assists, one ace and one block in her first match as an Oredigger.
- Nightengale-Luhan walked away with five digs in the back row.
- Donais' 10-dig, 10-kill double-double against Fort Lewis marks the 10th of her career.
- Stokes' 37-assist, 10-dig double-double versus MSU Denver is the 16th of her career.
- Furthermore, Stokes finished the day with three blocks to move over 100 blocks in less than three years as Mines' starting setter.
- Head coach Jamie Magalei is 282-95 in her 13th season at Mines.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines faces Colorado Christian next Saturday in Lakewood at 2 p.m. It is anticipated that no spectators will be allowed. However, live stats and video will be available for free at www.minesathletics.com.
 
Fans can follow the Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team on Twitter at @MinesVolleyball and on Instagram at @Mines_Volleyball. Fans can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all season long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.