COLORADO SPRINGS – Two straight-set wins over William Jewell and Lubbock Christian highlighted opening day for the #15-ranked Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team at the Mountain Lion Classic hosted by UCCS.
Amanda Donais was the top Oredigger on offense, boasting 25 kills in six sets while hitting .478. She added two service aces and six digs as well.
Taylor Hicken wasn't far behind as she knocked down 21 kills in six sets and converted at a .421 clip. Hicken's resume also included five service aces, 10 digs and two blocks. Additionally,
Rose Stuewe and
Julia Eiken produced 19 kills apiece.
Drew Stokes finished her day touting 80 assists at a 13.33 assist-per-set rate. She also notched 10 digs, seven kills, four service aces and two blocks while hitting .429.
Elle Duis capped it off by grinding out 23 digs.
Mines (5-1) produced a team hitting percentage of .384 while holding William Jewell (3-2) and Lubbock Christian (3-3) to a combined .215 on the attack. The Orediggers also benefited from 15 service aces but only produced three total blocks on the day. The opposition countered Mines' presence at the net with nine total blocks but were limited to four service aces in six sets.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first match of the day came against a 3-1 William Jewell squad, but Mines handled the Cardinals with no issues. The Orediggers hit .396 as a team in a match that had just four lead changes and eight ties. Hicken hammered down 12 kills while hitting .611 to lead all players and added four service aces for good measure. Stokes handed out 35 assists and Duis racked up 10 digs. Mines polished off WJC with set scores of 25-11, 25-14 and 25-17.
Lubbock Christian was Mines' second opponent of the day and rolled in at 3-2 after falling to #4-ranked Washburn. While the showdown created 26 ties and 12 lead changes to go along with a 30-28 score in the second set, the Orediggers still managed a 3-0 victory thanks to wins of 25-20, 30-28 and 25-17. The Lady Chaps did limit Hicken on the attack, but Donais and Stuewe took over and combined for 31 kills while both hitting over .400. Stokes proved key in the offensive effort as she pumped out 45 assists.
Danielle Mullen and Duis were also big with 23 digs in the back row. Overall, Donais, Stuewe,
Lindsey Jin and Eiken gave Mines four Orediggers boasting double-digit kills.
NOTABLES
- Friday morning marked the first-ever meeting between Mines and William Jewell on the volleyball court. The Orediggers now lead the series, 1-0.
- Mines' afternoon win over Lubbock Christian improved the Orediggers to 2-1 in that rivalry.
- Duis and Donais now tout exactly 80 service aces and 70 service aces, respectively, in their careers.
- Eiken surpassed 300 kills for her career thanks to her performances on Friday.
- Coach Magalei is now 297-99 in her career as a head collegiate volleyball coach.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Orediggers close the Mountain Lipn Classic on Saturday against Texas A&M-International at 11:30 a.m. and #4 Washburn at 4:30 p.m. Live stats and video of all four matches 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.
