GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The #15-ranked Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team rolled to a 3-0 victory over Western Colorado on Thursday night and punched its ticket to the RMAC Tournament Semifinals at Brownson Arena.
 
Amanda Donais led the Orediggers to victory by knocking down 11 kills on 21 attempts for an attack percentage of .429. She also added four digs and three blocks to the winning effort. Rose Stuewe was right behind Donais with nine kills. Julia Eiken rounded out the top offensive performances with eight kills while hitting .438. April Jergensen anchored the back row with nine digs. Drew Stokes dished out 31 assists while knocking down three kills with two blocks and one ace. Taylor Hicken owned the net defensively as she touted four blocks. Also notable were Elle Duis' eight digs, six assists and one service ace.
 
Mines (9-4) proved efficient on offense as the Orediggers converted at a clip of .393 as a team. Western Colorado (6-8) entered the match ranked 21st in the nation in total blocks, but produced zero blocks on Thursday night. Mines walked away with a 7-0 advantage in stuffs at the net. The Orediggers also held WCU to .064 on the attack. Mines advances to the semifinals where it will face top-seeded and #2-ranked Colorado Mesa on the Mavericks' home court.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Prior to the final match of the day, Drew Stokes was presented with her RMAC Setter of the Year Award. That shot in the arm set the tone for the match as Mines burst out of the gate to a 6-2 lead in the opening set. The Orediggers' four-point advantage forced the Mountaineers to call their first timeout. Mines then surged to a 14-5 lead which led to WCU's second, and final, timeout of the frame. The pauses made no difference as the Orediggers surged to a 25-14 win behind Donais' six kills.
 
Mines dominated the second set as well, leaping ahead 8-1 and 9-2 before Western Colorado called timeout at 18-8. The break came amidst a 4-0 run for the Orediggers. Once again, it made no difference as the higher seed rolled to a 25-11 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
That led to the most competitive set of the night where Mines called upon Eiken to serve the Orediggers back into the lead. The junior middle blocker stood behind the line for five straight points and provided Mines a 16-15 lead. Both teams traded points all the way to 19-19. However, back-to-back attacking errors by WCU gave the Orediggers a 21-19 advantage. Then, one more point for the fifth seed led to a 4-0 run and a 25-20 win for Mines to clinch the sweep.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines is now 34-36-1 in the all-time series against Western Colorado.
- The Orediggers have won seven straight matches against the Mountaineers and haven't lost to WCU since Sept. 25, 2015.
- Thursday also gave Mines the 2020-21 sweep of Western Colorado after the Orediggers and Mountaineers went five sets in Gunnison earlier this season.
- According to the official statistics, Mines needed just one hour and nine minutes to complete its 3-0 victory over WCU.
- The Orediggers' .393 attack percentage was their third-highest of the year and best since sweeping Chadron State inside Lockridge Arena on March 7.
- Additionally, Mines committed just seven errors on the attack which is its lowest number of hitting errors all season.
- Gabby Castronova had six digs against Western Colorado to put her at 100 for her career.
- Megan Neil surpassed 300 kills for her career by knocking down five on Thursday night while hitting .500 with zero errors.
- Head coach Jamie Magalei is 290-98 in her 13th season at Mines.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Orediggers face the RMAC Champion Colorado Mesa on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the semifinals of the RMAC Tournament at Brownson Arena in Grand Junction. Tickets are available online. Live stats and video will also 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.