GOLDEN, Colo. – Mines senior
Rose Stuewe swung the #15 Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team to a 3-0 victory against Westminster on Saturday evening inside Lockridge Arena thanks to 17 kills on .667 hitting.
Stuewe's kills total led all players, and her attack percentage led all hitters.
Shannon Perna chipped in 12 kills while converting at a .429 clip and
Emily Knight knocked down 12 with a .632 percentage as well. Defensively,
Elle Duis was the anchor as she led all players with 17 digs.
Hailey Aigner was not far behind with 11 digs.
Drew Stokes added a match-high four blocks as well. She also dished out 47 assists and knocked down four kills, touting an .800 hitting percentage. Duis accounted for the Orediggers' lone service ace. Lydia Miller was the top hitter for Wesminster thanks to 10 kills.
Mines earned its first RMAC win of the season, sitting 6-4 overall and 1-1 in conference play. Westminster dropped to 2-8 overall and 0-2 in RMAC action. The Orediggers' earned the win behind a team attack percentage of .452. They held the Griffins to .180 on the attack thanks to seven total blocks. The only statistical category Mines didn't win was service aces with WC notching two compared to the home team's one.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Despite a dreary day outside of Lockridge Arena and the Student Recreation Center in Golden, Mines could not be kept down. The home team overcame a back-and-forth opening set featuring 15 ties and six lead changes, claiming a 25-23 win and a 1-0 lead in the match. Stuewe led the early charge with seven kills on .750 hitting while the Orediggers posted a .359 attack percentage as a team. Duis also provided six digs and Stokes racked up 18 assists on 18 kills. Four blocks by Mines were also big in the narrow victory.
After the early challenge, the home team stood unchallenged and uncontested the rest of the match. Frame two featured six more kills from Stuewe, eight additional digs courtesy of Duis and a .459 team hitting percentage on the way to a 25-14 win. The Orediggers polished off the sweep thanks to Knight's five, set-three kills on .833 hitting and two more blocks that limited Westminster to a .222 attack percentage. Mines' 25-16 win in frame three finished off a run that featured zero ties and zero lead changes over the final two games.
NOTABLES
- Mines improved to 9-0 in the all-time series against Westminster. Those nine wins include five sweeps.
- Saturday marked the Orediggers' first 3-0 win since taking down #19 UT Tyler on opening weekend.
- Stuewe's .667 attack percentage ties her for #4 in the program record book.
- Other single-match, career highs include Aigner's 11 digs and Knight's .632 hitting percentage.
- Knight also moved over 100 kills for her career on Saturday night.
- Duis' 17 digs extended her lead as Mines' all-time digs leader to 1,960 in her career.
- Head Coach Magalei now owns a career record of 324-106.
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines heads north next weekend for matches at South Dakota Mines and Black Hills State on Friday and Saturday.
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.
