SALT LAKE CITY – The Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team edged past Westminster on Thursday night in a five-set victory at Behnken Field House.
 
Taylor Hicken led all players with 18 kills while hitting .471 on the attack. Four other Orediggers joined the double-digit kills party as Lindsey Jin racked up 17, Julia Eiken notched 16, Amanda Donais tallied 14, and Megan Neil ended with 11. Drew Stokes' 62 assists coordinated the effort while adding 15 digs for the double-double. Elle Duis produced 23 digs in the back row, and Donais capped her night with 17 digs as well to round out a second double-double for Mines.
 
As a team, Mines (6-1, 6-1 RMAC) hit .347 and held Westminster (3-6, 1-6 RMAC) to .162 on the attack. The Orediggers extended their winning streak to five straight matches despite 15 service errors and 10 aces by the Griffins. After five sets of action, Mines held the statistical advantage in kills, hitting percentage, assists and digs. With the victory, the Orediggers kept themselves in third place in the RMAC standings.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Mines wasted no time taking full control of the match. The opening set was all Jin and Stokes as Jin powered out six kills on nine attempts with zero errors, while Stokes racked up 16 assists. The Orediggers hit .488 as a team in the first frame as Mines cruised to a 25-15 win and a 1-0 lead overall.
 
Westminster curtailed Mines' momentum in the second set by taking leads of 3-0, 4-1 and 5-2. At 5-2, the visitors ran off four straight points. It was that run in which Stokes reached and surpassed 3,000 assists for her career. The 3,000th assist tied the game at 5-5 and she moved over 3K with a set to Megan Neil that gave Mines a 6-5 advantage. But the Griffins were not going away. The home team stuck with the nationally-ranked Orediggers all the way to 12-12 before Mines started to pull away. After a small run for the visitors, WC called timeout with the score sitting 14-12 in favor of the Orediggers. The pause did little good for the Griffins as Mines closed out a 25-17 win and a commanding 2-0 advantage.
 
Heading into the third set, Hicken, Eiken and Jin all boasted eight kills each. Neil and Donais were right on their heels at six kills apiece. Stokes also touted 30 assists along with 11 digs from Duis. Despite phenomenal performances from each of those individuals and a .333 hitting percentage by the Orediggers, the Griffins took set three, 25-22, and avoided the sweep. Westminster benefited greatly from six service aces in the third frame.
 
The home team carried that momentum into a 25-22, fourth-game win to force a decisive fifth set. Mines and Westminster went toe-to-toe early in the final frame. However, the Orediggers outlasted the Griffins and pulled away for a 15-6 win to clinch the match. The home team did not have any aces or benefit from any service errors in the final set, which had been WC's advantage through four sets. In fact, Mines hit .350 in the fifth frame to claim the win while holding the Griffins to -.111 over that same span.
  
NOTABLES
- Mines is 6-0 in the all-time series against Westminster.
- Thursday marked the first-ever, five-set affair between the Orediggers and Griffins.
- Mines has now won two five-set matches this season with both coming on the road.
- Donais' double-double was the 13th of her career and Stokes grabbed her 17th.
- Eiken's 16 kills marked a career high for the junior. Her previous best was 11 kills against Tarleton State in the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
- Stokes not only surpassed 3,000 assists for her career, but she also set her single-match high in digs and came one assist shy of tying her career high.
- Additionally, Hicken's 18 kills matched her career best in a single match. She also knocked down 18 on Nov. 2, 2018 against UCCS.
- Head coach Jamie Magalei is 287-95 in her 13th season at Mines.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Orediggers host a RMAC pod on Sunday, March 7, with Adams State and Chadron State coming to Lockridge Arena. No fans will be allowed, but live stats and video will be offered 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.