DENVER, Colo. – The #6-ranked Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team had its 13-match win streak come to a halt on Saturday evening as the Orediggers dropped a five-set thriller to #2-ranked MSU Denver inside the Auraria Event Center.
 
Despite the loss, four different Orediggers turned in resumes that included double-digit kills. Julia Eiken was at the top of the list with 16 kills on .455 hitting. Taylor Hicken added 13 kills, Lindsey Jin touted 12 and Rose Stuewe chipped in 11 kills of her own. Drew Stokes produced a 48-assist, 11-dig double-double. Elle Duis and Gabby Castronova rounded out the top statistical performances with 13 and 10 digs, respectively.
 
Saturday's decision gave MSU Denver (16-2, 10-0 RMAC) sole possession of first place in the RMAC standings. Mines (16-2, 9-1 RMAC) falls into a tie for second with Regis. The Orediggers were held well under their season average on the attack, only converting at a .252 clip. However, Mines did produce eight blocks and four aces as part of the attempted comeback effort.  MSU Denver produced a consistent .282 mark on the attack, but found the biggest advantage in the service game with 13 aces.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
No person ever could have asked for better weather on Saturday in the greater Denver area. Bright, blue skies and balmy temperatures treated the #5-ranked Mines football team to a victory during the afternoon and sole possession of first place in the RMAC standings. As the sun began to sink behind the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, Oredigger nation converged on the Auraria Event Center located downtown in the capital city to cheer on the #6-ranked Mines volleyball team facing off against the #2-ranked Roadrunners of MSU Denver. Nearly every Mines team was represented in the crowd with parents and alumni joining as well. A win for the visitors would give another Oredigger squad sole possession of first place in the conference standings.
 
The opening set saw a back-and-forth battle early with both teams hitting over .400. The home team eventually pushed itself to a 10-6 advantage forcing a timeout for Mines. That break stemmed the tide briefly, but the Orediggers could not close the gap. MSU Denver took a 25-17 victory in the opening set despite Hicken's three kills on four attempts with zero errors. Game two was much of the same with longer and intensified rallies. However, the end result was still in favor of the home team. A 25-19 Roadrunner win positioned MSU Denver for the sweep.
 
In game three, Mines turned the tables took firm grasp of the momentum. By the time the score had reached 17-9, MSU Denver had used both timeouts and a challenge as well. The Orediggers appeared in full control thanks to two blocks and two aces in the frame, but the Roadrunners surged and made it a 25-22 margin in favor of the visitors. That led to an early frenzy in game four with violent swings finding faces and both fan bases losing their voices with each point. However, miscues in Mines' serve receive afforded the home team a 6-3 advantage. The Roadrunners extended their advantage to 15-9. At that point, the Orediggers powered out a 7-1 run to tie the set at 16-16 on a Duis ace. After a MSU Denver timeout, Mines made it a 9-2 run and an 18-17 lead thanks to a thunderous kill from Stuewe. Points were exchanged, but two attack errors from the home team combined with kills by Jin and Hicken gave the visitors the cushion they needed for a 25-21 win – forcing the decisive fifth set.
 
MSU Denver leapt out to a 7-1 advantage in the final frame. However, Mines was still not done. The Orediggers strung together an 8-3 run capped by Stokes' ace. That cut the visitor's deficit to 10-9. Unfortunately for Mines, a strong of service and attack errors afforded the Roadrunners a 13-9 lead and the home team did not look back. MSU Denver closed out the match with a 15-11 decision to likely propel themselves to #1 in the nation after a Washburn loss on Friday night.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines is now 20-65 in the all-time series against MSU Denver, and 5-3 against the Roadrunners since 2018.
- The Orediggers last loss to the Roadrunners before Saturday night was opening weekend of the spring campaign before Mines defeated MSU Denver in four sets in the RMAC Tournament Championship match.
- Castronova's 10 digs came in her first appearance of the fall 2021 campaign.
- Emily Knight hammered down her first three kills in an Oredigger uniform in just her second appearance for Mines.
- The Orediggers have only played in two five-set matches so far this season.
- Head Coach Jamie Magalei is now 308-100 in her career at Mines.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Orediggers travel to Chadron State for a match on Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. Live stats and video on the RMAC Network will be offered for both matches at www.minesathletics.com.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines volleyball on Twitter at @MinesVolleyball and on Instagram at @mines.volleyball. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.