HILLSDALE, Mich. – Two four-set victories marked the final day of the Hillsdale Charger "Net Results" Invitational for the #14 Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team as the Orediggers took down #17 Gannon and #22 Hillsdale.
Statistical highlights abounded in the high-scoring wins.
Megan Neil's 33 kills and .277 attack percentage were tops on offense.
Rose Stuewe and
Shannon Perna were right behind with 32 and 31 kills, respectively.
Emily Knight recorded 25 kills as well.
Drew Stokes coordinated it all with 111 assists at a clip of 13.88 assists per set while adding 26 digs, six kills, three blocks and two service aces.
Elle Duis and
Morgan McChesney anchored the defense thanks to Duis' 58 digs (7.25 per set) and McChesney's six total blocks. Duis put the cherry on top by providing five service aces on the day.
On paper, Mines (5-3) had very few statistical advantages, but the ones that existed were big. The Orediggers averaged 17.5 kills and 16 assists per set across two matches. In comparison, Gannon (4-3) and Hillsdale (6-2) combined for 11.88 kills and 11.25 assists per set. Mines also outhit its opponents by a .222-.201 margin and extended rallies better with 175 digs compared to a total of 138. The Golden Knights and Chargers held their biggest combined advantage in blocks, 24-8.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first match of the day pitted #14 Mines against #17 Gannon, the highest ranked opponent the Orediggers had faced to date. Four kills apiece from Perna and Knight along with a team hitting percentage of .344 despite three blocks helped Mines to a 25-21 win in the first set. Gannon only hit .179 as a team even though it was blocked zero times. The Golden Knights flipped the script in game two with a 25-20 win even though the Orediggers still hit .300 and GU was held to .289. That would be Gannon's only win as Mines cruised to wins of 25-17 and 25-21 to clinch the match. Neil's four kills on .429 hitting clinched set three. She then piled up seven more kills at a .636 pace while Duis and Perna notched seven digs each in frame four to finish out the victory.
Mines faltered in its opening frame against the hosting Chargers, 25-20, as Hillsdale hit .444 while the Orediggers only converted a .283 percentage. Even so, Neil still poured on seven kills in set one. Game two required extra points, but Mines found the equalizing win in the match, 27-25, thanks to seven kills off the hand of Stuewe. Stokes also helped by dishing out 18 assists on 21 kills. Duis' 12 digs didn't hurt either, and she closed out the set win with back-to-back service aces. The last two sets were tight decisions as well at 25-23 and 26-24, but both went in favor of the Orediggers. Stuewe added six more kills and Duis had eight more digs to clinch game three. Perna and Duis wrapped up the match with six kills and 10 digs, respectively, in the fourth set.
NOTABLES
- The meeting between Mines and Gannon was the first ever in either program's history, making the Orediggers 1-0 in the all-time series.
- Mines improved to 2-0 against Hillsdale.
- Stokes' 65 assists in Saturday's finale tied her for #5 in the program record book for assists in a match. That performance also marked a career best for the Murphysboro, Ill., native.
- Stokes also notched double-doubles in both matches, producing 43 assists and 14 digs against Gannon with 65 assists and 13 digs versus Hillsdale.
- Additionally, Stokes was named to the all-tournament team for her performance through the weekend.
- Perna produced the first double-double of her career on Saturday thanks to 16 kills and 11 digs against Gannon.
- Duis' 87 combined digs against Gannon and Hillsdale moved her to #2 on Mines' all-time list with 1,928. She's now six shy of breaking Taryn Huber's program record of 1,923 set from 2013-17.
- Duis also surpassed 100 digs for her career on Saturday.
- Knight's 16 kills versus Hillsdale marked a career high for the transfer. The same was true for Neil's 18 kills in the same match.
- Perna moved over 100 kills for her career during the trip to Michigan. Her career high is now 16 against Gannon.
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Jada Price produced a career high in digs by putting up 11 against Gannon and Hillsdale.
- Head Coach Magalei now owns a career record of 323-105.
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines opens RMAC play on Wednesday at Regis at 5 p.m. Live stats and free video on the RMAC Network will be linked 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.
