DENVER, Colo. – Midweek volleyball action in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference saw Colorado School of Mines push #8 MSU Denver to five sets as the Orediggers dropped a 3-2 match to the Roadrunners on Auraria Campus.
 
Despite the loss, Emily Knight led all players with 13 kills. Madison Glassco and Shannon Perna added 10 kills apiece. Also notable on offense were eight kills on .500 hitting from Allison Jansen. On defense, Jada Price tallied 16 digs while Renata Bolado Corona notched 14 digs. Bolado Corona, Powell, and Perna each posted one service ace.
 
Overall, the Orediggers (12-12, 5-7 RMAC) stacked up 57 digs but only recorded one block in the match. MSU Denver rallied back behind a total of 16 blocks, and five service aces. The loss forces Mines into a must-win situation over its last two matches. With the win, the Roadrunners hold a game advantage on the rest of the RMAC with Fort Lewis and Western Colorado coming to the Auraria Events Center this weekend.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
There were no glaring, box-score discrepancies in the first two sets, yet, it was all Orediggers as the visitors rolled to wins of 25-22 and 25-19. After two frames, Knight had eight kills and Powell was up to 23 assists. However, no team hit over .200 and Mines did not record a single block through the first two frames.
 
Over the next two games, the Roadrunners tossed down five total blocks in the third set and five more in the fourth set. MSU Denver also avoided any more service aces by the Orediggers. The home team also hit over .400 in the third and fourth games. The decisive fifth set featured six ties but no lead changes as MSU Denver tallied the reverse sweep. Three Roadrunner blocks and .300 hitting in the final frame helped the home team pull off the win.
 
NOTABLES
- The rivalry with MSU Denver remains the longest-standing in Mines history in terms of matches played.
- Four of the last six matches between Mines and MSU Denver have gone five sets.
- The Orediggers are now 21-69 in the all-time series against the Roadrunners.
- Wednesday marked MSU Denver's first five-set match in RMAC play.
- Head Coach Jamie Magalei now owns a career record of 352-122 in her 16th season at the helm.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines hosts Fort Lewis on Friday at 7 p.m. The Orediggers welcome Western Colorado to Golden on Saturday, playing at 5 p.m. Live stats and free video on the RMAC Network will be available for both matches.
 
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.