GOLDEN, Colo. – The #22-ranked Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team played inside Lockridge Arena for the final time in 2022 on Saturday evening, and swept South Dakota Mines while also celebrating Senior Night.
 
Drew Stokes coordinated a balanced attack with a monster night featuring a 40-assist, 10-dig double-double. Stokes also hammered down six kills while hitting .500 with two total blocks. Elle Duis had a massive night as well, pumping out 19 digs at an all-America clip of 6.3 digs per set. She added four assists as well. Offensive leaders included Emily Knight with 11 kills and Shannon Perna's 10 kills. Perna nearly had her own double-double thanks to nine digs. Also notable was Morgan McChesney boasting eight kills on .538 hitting. Knight, McChesney and Rose Stuewe notched two blocks apiece, and McChesney put up two service aces too.
 
The Orediggers (20-6, 15-3 RMAC) overcame 10 total blocks by the Hardrockers (11-15, 8-10 RMAC), and still hit .276 as a team. South Dakota Mines managed to hit .234 despite five blocks by the home team. However, the Oredigger defense limited RMAC points leader Jacey Koethe to just nine kills and .296 hitting. The biggest difference in the match came in the back row and in efficiency. The home team extended rallies with 57 digs compared to 44 by the Hardrockers. Colorado School of Mines also knocked down 52 kills on 51 assists while the visitors had just 37 kills on 37 assists.
 
Due to earlier results around the league, Saturday's match had no bearing on the Orediggers' RMAC Tournament seeding. They were locked in as the #4 seed and set to face CSU Pueblo right after the match started. South Dakota Mines was chasing its first RMAC Tournament appearance in program history. Despite, the loss the Hardrockers still backed into the 2022 edition of the tournament with seeding still pending as of the writing of this article.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colorado School of Mines carried the momentum of a sweep on Parents' Night on Friday into the Orediggers' 2022 home finale Saturday. The official time of the match on the box score was 79 minutes, and the real time from first serve to final point was less than that. Set one was all middle blockers on the home side. Morgan McChesney and Emily Knight combined for nine kills, zero errors and a .750 hitting percentage in a 25-20 win. Stokes also had 16 assists and Duis ground out six digs. Set two saw Shannon Perna take the reins with five kills on .500 hitting while Stokes handed out 14 more assists and Duis put up seven more digs. Colorado School of Mines took the 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-21 win.
 
Set three turned into a defensive battle with the visitors trying to avoid a sweep. Both sides put up four total blocks apiece, and the Hardrockers held the Orediggers to .190 on the attack. However, it wasn't meant to be for the ladies from South Dakota. Stuewe hammered down four kills on .500 hitting, Duis came up with six more digs, and the home team completed the sweep on a double block by McChesney and Emma Smithey in the 25-19 win.
 
NOTABLES
- The Orediggers improved to 10-4 in the all-time series against the Hardrockers.
- Colorado School of Mines has won five straight matches against South Dakota Mines and have swept them seven times in 14 meetings.
- The Orediggers haven't lost to the Hardrockers since 2019, and have only dropped two sets during that span.
- Saturday's match gave Mines 20 wins for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons. The only season below 20 wins was the 2020-21 campaign that featured just 15 matches.
- The Orediggers honored five seniors following the match, including Gabby Castronova, Elle Duis, Megan Neil, Audrey Richard, and Drew Stokes. That group finished Senior Night with a combined record of 106-27.
- Duis' 19 digs against SDM gave her exactly 2,000 digs for her career, and put her over 400 for the season.
- Stokes' 40 assists put her at 5,700 assists for her career, and she recorded the 33rd double-double of her career. She also boasts 200 digs in 2022.
- Stuewe moved over 300 kills for the season on Saturday night and surpassed 100 blocks for her career.
- Knight, Stokes, Perna, McChesney, Richard, Stuewe, and Duis played all 26 matches of the regular season.
- The Orediggers have swept 13 opponents in 20 wins in 2022.
- Head Coach Magalei now owns a career record of 338-108.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The next action for Mines will be the 2022 RMAC Volleyball Tournament. The Orediggers will be the #4 seed and face fifth-seeded CSU Pueblo on Thursday, Nov. 10, inside the Auraria Event Center at MSU Denver. Official match time has yet to be announced. Live coverage 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.