GOLDEN, Colo. – Narrow set decisions doomed the #22-ranked Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team on Saturday afternoon as they dropped 3-0 matches to San Francisco State and Findlay, respectively, inside Lockridge Arena.
Overall, in six game losses, Mines dropped four frames by three points or less. The slim margins were fueled by advantages in digs (88-85) and blocks (11-9.5). However, on offense, the Oredigger only hit .176 compared to .233 by the opposition. The true straw that broke the proverbial camel's (or burro's) back was Mines' two opponents combining for 15 service aces across two matches and six sets. The Orediggers had just one service ace on the day. For the weekend, the home team dropped eight games. Six of those losses were by three points or less, and five were two-point margins.
Team leaders in the box score included middle blocker
Morgan McChesney, outside hitter
Rose Stuewe, middle blocker
Allison Jansen, libero
Jada Price, and defensive specialist
Meghan Slaninka. McChesney's day-two resume featured 10 kills on .474 hitting along with six total blocks at a clip of 1.0 blocks per set. Stuewe was the top Oredigger in kills thanks to 17 across two matches. Jansen knocked down 11 kills while hitting .417. Price averaged 4.67 digs per set. Slaninka turned in 16 total digs and Mines' lone service ace. Also notable was setter
Presley Powell who pumped out 61 assists, 10 digs, and three total blocks. Stuewe, Powell and Price all earned 2023 Oredigger Volleyball Classic All-Tournament honors. Colorado Mesa's Sydney Leffler was tournament MVP.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Mines and San Francisco State faced off in the Orediggers' first match of the day. The first set featured 16 ties and eight lead changes. That told the story after SFSU claimed a 26-24 win before cruising to a 3-0 victory with game scores of 25-14 and 25-22. Stuewe and Jansen finished with nine kills apiece in the loss. Price did her part by providing 19 digs – nearly seven digs per set. McChesney totaled four blocks, but the service game saw the Gators win with a 7-1 advantage in aces. Two of those aces were for being out of rotation.
The Orediggers' second match of the day was against Findlay. In the opening set there were nine ties and three lead changes. Ironically, game one was also Mines' biggest margin of defeat in the match at 25-18. In a 25-23 game two, the Orediggers never led but matched the Oilers on three occasions. Frame three also finished with a 25-23 mark. In the end, Knight grinded out nine kills, Powell had 29 assists, Price and Slaninka both turned in 11 digs each.
NOTABLES
- Mines' meetings with San Francisco State and Findlay were the first in program history.
- The rest of the all-tournament team featured Kirsten Bomholt (Findlay), Tamiya Wilson (San Francisco State), Sabrina VanDeList (Colorado Mesa), Emma Shaddix (Colorado Mesa), and Ava Doster (Findlay).
- After opening weekend, Stuewe sits 26 kills shy of 1,000 for her career.
- Redshirt sophomore
Emma Smithey made her 2023 debut on Saturday as well.
- Head Coach
Jamie Magalei now boasts a career record of 342-112 in her 16th season at the helm.
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines heads to California next weekend for The Cougar Classic hosted by Cal State San Bernardino. Action begins Friday at 9 a.m. (PT) against St. Edward's. Free live stats will be linked at
www.minesathletics.com. Pay-per-view video will also be available through the CCAA Network.
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.
