DENVER, Colo. – Oredigger libero Elle Duis broke the Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team's all-time digs record on Wednesday night, but it wasn't enough for the #15-ranked visitors as they fell in three sets at #23 Regis.
 
Duis finished the match with 15 digs at a 5.0-digs-per-set average. Morgan McChesney was also big on defense with three blocks. Megan Neil led the Mines hitters with nine kills and a .240 attack percentage. Shannon Perna and Rose Stuewe chipped in eight kills each as well. Oredigger setter Drew Stokes drew closer to the all-time assists record by dishing out 33 along with four digs, three kills while hitting .33 and two service aces.
 
Most statistical categories were even, but the biggest difference was Regis (5-4, 1-0 RMAC) hitting .245 as a team, while Mines (5-4, 0-1 RMAC) only posted a .128 percentage. The other game-changer was seven blocks for the Rangers compared to four for the Orediggers. Both teams combined to commit 15 service errors while accumulating just six service aces.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
With a historic heatwave hammering the Denver metropolitan area, the Orediggers made the 12-mile jaunt from Golden to the Regis Field House. First point of the match was a serve-receive by Jada Price, a set from Stokes and a kill from Emily Knight off the Rangers' block. After that, the home team hit over .700 for most of the frame and finished off a 25-22 win despite four kills apiece from Perna and Neil with a block by McChesney.
 
The second set was a back-and-forth affair all the way to 18-18, but then Regis started to pull away. Even though Mines' defense held the Rangers to .147 hitting and Duis ground out seven more digs to break the program's all-time record, RU held on for a 25-20 win and a 2-0 lead in the match. Despite Mines racing out to a 13-7 lead in the third game, Regis held the proverbial service and finished off the sweep with a 25-22 win in the final frame.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines fell to 26-50-1 in the all-time series against Regis.
- Duis' 15 digs moved her to 1,943 in her career. The previous record-holder was Taryn Huber who produced 1,933 digs from 2013-17.
- Neil moved over 500 kills for her career and Stokes surpassed 5,000 career assists on Wednesday evening.
- Head Coach Magalei now owns a career record of 323-106.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines opens its RMAC home slate on Saturday at 5 p.m. against Westminster inside Lockridge Arena. Fans can purchase tickets at www.minesathletics.com/tickets. Live stats and free video on the RMAC Network will also 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.