HILLSDALE, Mich. – The #14 Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team dropped both its matches on opening day of the Hillsdale Charger "Net Results" Invitational with a pair of four-set losses to Missouri S&T and Ferris State.
 
Megan Neil's 24 kills and .242 attacking percentage led the Orediggers across eight sets. Shannon Perna and Rose Stuewe added 20 kills apiece and Emily Knight had 19. Drew Stokes tallied a total of 80 assists. On defense, Elle Duis racked up 27 digs while Stuewe and Knight registered four blocks apiece. Also notable were three service aces from Meghan Slaninka.
 
Mines (3-3) totaled 13 blocks and 12 aces as a team but only hit .177 on the attack. On the other side, Missouri S& (6-1) and Ferris State (1-6) combined to hit .226 with 17 service aces and 19 blocks. The Orediggers averaged more kills per set than both their opponents but were tripped up by 24 service errors.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
In the day's first match, Mines and Missouri S&T battled back and forth until the Orediggers stretched out a 20-15 lead in the opening set. However, the Miners took advantage of five Mines service errors and used four blocks in a 10-1 run to win the opening set. That led to a second set which was all Orediggers. Slaninka capped off the 25-16 equalizer with three service aces through the last four points of the frame. Unfortunately for Mines, Missouri S&T's block returned with a vengeance in set three and held Oredigger hits under .000 on the attack. The Miners' 25-13 win in game three set up the match-clincher in the fourth set by way of a 25-21 margin. Slaninka's three aces and Shannon Perna's 13 kills provided the highlights for Colorado School of Mines.
 
Friday's finale for the Orediggers got away from them early when Ferris State pinched a pair of 25-22 victories in games one and two. Mines bounced back in the third set and avoided the sweep in extra points, 28-26. However, Ferris State came out in the fourth frame and hit .393 as a team on the way to a 25-19 win and the victory in the match. Oredigger highlights in the match included Neil, Stuewe, Knight and Morgan McChesney all touting double-digit kills. Duis also ground out 19 digs.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines moved to 1-1 in the all-time series against Missouri S&T and 0-2 against Ferris State.
- Duis had two service aces on the day which moved her to #7 on the Orediggers' all-time list with 99 in her career. She surpassed Jackie Stabell (2009-12) who had 98 in four years.
- Stuewe's 20 kills on Saturday put her at exactly 600 for her career.
- Missouri S&T received votes in the latest AVCA national poll. Ferris State had been ranked in the preseason top-25.
- Emma Smithey made her debut as an Oredigger on Saturday with appearances in two sets.
- Head Coach Magalei now owns a career record of 321-105.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines closes its trip to Michigan on Saturday with matches against #17 Gannon and #22 Hillsdale. Live links will be available 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.