GOLDEN, Colo. – The #10-ranked and second-seeded Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team swept seventh-seeded Western Colorado on Tuesday night inside Lockridge Arena to punch its ticket to the 2021 RMAC Tournament semifinal round.
Balance was the name of the game with four different Orediggers tallying nine kills apiece while
Taylor Hicken led all players in the match with 10 kills. Hicken also led all players with a .421 attack percentage.
Julia Eiken,
Lindsey Jin,
Amanda Donais and
Rose Stuewe made up the nine-kill quartet.
Drew Stokes accounted for the two remaining Oredigger kills. She also dished out 42 assists and notched five digs. Defensively,
Elle Duis accumulated 14 digs, and Eiken totaled six blocks in three sets. Also notable were five blocks and five digs from Donais.
With the win, Mines (24-3) extends its win streak to seven straight matches and 21 consecutive sets. The victory pushes the Orediggers into the RMAC Tournament Semifinals hosted by top-seeded MSU Denver where Mines will face third-seeded Colorado Mesa at 5 p.m. on Friday evening. The loss for Western Colorado (13-14) ends WCU's season with the Mountaineers riding a three-match skid. Blocking and hitting efficiency were the difference in the match as Mines owned both categories thanks to nine total blocks and a .276 average on the attack. The Oredigger defense limited the Mountaineers to a .000 hitting percentage and surrendered just one service ace.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Tuesday night saw a slight dip in attendance from the usually robust Oredigger crowd. However, the fans were as fervent as ever. In fact, one student took the game to a whole new level as he boisterously flaunted his Minecraft skills to the fans and competitors alike. Meanwhile, Mines volleyball flaunted its skills on the court. The Orediggers needed just 67 minutes from first serve to final point to secure the win.
Set scores of 25-15, 25-15, 25-13 were the underwriting in the dominant victory. The deadly duo of Eiken and Donais owned game one with four kills apiece while Mines combined for four blocks as a team. It was also Eiken and Donais who scored the 25th point on a double block. Then, Hicken took over in set two with five kills and zero errors on the attack for a .625 hitting percentage. Eiken also added three more kills and three more blocks in that set while hitting .750. Stuewe highlighted the final frame thanks to five kills and .364 hitting on the outside.
NOTABLES
- Mines evened the all-time series with Western Colorado on Tuesday night at 36-36.
- The Orediggers have now won nine straight matches against the Mountaineers. They have only dropped two sets to WCU since 2017.
- Stokes' 42 assists put her at 1,115 assists so far this season which ranks #11 on Mines' all-time, single-season list. She also holds the #3 and #5 spots on that same list.
- Duis surpassed 1,700 digs in her career thanks to 14 against WCU.
- Stuewe's nine kills on Friday pushed her over 500 kills for her career.
- Donais accounted for the final point of all three sets against the Mountaineers with the block assist in set one followed by kills in games two and three.
- Since 2015, Mines is 15-2 in the RMAC Tournament.
- The Orediggers have not lost in the RMAC quarterfinals since 2011.
- Mines has swept 17 different opponents this fall.
- Head Coach Magalei is now 316-101 in her career at Colorado School of Mines including a mark of 21-9 in the RMAC Tournament.
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines next faces third-seeded Colorado Mesa in the RMAC Tournament semifinals on Friday at 5 p.m. The match will be played at top-seeded MSU Denver. Live stats and video on the RMAC Network will be offered 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.
