GOLDEN, Colo. – Three sets was all the Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team needed on Saturday night to dispatch Black Hills State inside Lockridge Arena.
 
Hannah Kinnison fueled the sweep by hammering down 15 error-free kills while hitting .577 and adding five digs and three total blocks. Olivia Murillo, at libero, provided a match-high 13 digs and led all players with four service aces. Morgan McChesney added seven kills and four total blocks. At setter, Hope Storm dished out 39 assists, put up four kills, had one block, and recorded one kill. Emma Dunwoody came off the bench and totaled five kills including four in the first set alone. The icing on the cake in the match was a pair of service aces from Avery Perreira.
 
For Mines (6-11, 3-4 RMAC), the victory snapped a five-match skid and gave the Orediggers their first win in the month of October. Black Hills State (4-14, 0-8 RMAC) dropped its 11th straight match and remained winless in conference play. Both teams had similar numbers in most statistical categories. The biggest discrepancies came in total kills and service errors. Mines only committed one service error while BHSU had eight. The Orediggers also knocked down 45 total kills compared to 36 by the Yellow Jackets. Black Hills State even had a higher attack percentage (.226), than the home team (.211). However, Mines still dished out 42 assists while the visitors produced 33.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Black Hills State charged out to an early, 9-2 lead in the opening set. Mines ground its way back into the game and, at 16-12, turned the tables on the Yellow Jackets. A Dunwoody kills sparked a 5-0 run for the Orediggers with a Kinnison ace giving Mines a 17-16 lead. Black Hills State briefly tied the set at 17-17, but another Dunwoody kills gave the Orediggers the lead for good. Dunwoody closed out the 25-22, game-one win by knocking down her fourth kill on her sixth attempt. She finished the frame hitting .500.
 
Game two was the most contentious set of the evening, producing five ties and two lead changes. However, fans wouldn't have expected it when the Yellow Jackets were leading by a score of 18-10. The long road back started with a kill off the hand of Naomi Romslo – one of two on the night for the Minnesota native. It started a long, grueling 11-4 run that found Mines trailing by one at 22-21 after a McChesney-Kinnison block. Eventually, Kate Kudlac tied the frame at 23-23. An exchange of points led to another Kudlac kill which made the score 25-24 in favor of the Orediggers. Perreira capped the 26-24 win with her second service ace of the set.
 
The long battle in the second set clearly took its toll on BHSU. In the final game of the evening, there was one tie and it was at 1-1. After a Yellow Jacket service error, Mines never looked back. Kinnison took over and pounded out seven kills on 14 attempts with zero errors in the third set alone. Helms added three error-free kills and Storm handed out 13 assists. Murillo tossed in a pair of service aces to polish of the 25-22 win and the sweep.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines improved to 17-1 in the all-time series against Black Hills State. The Orediggers' only loss to BHSU was in the series premier on Oct. 24, 1992.
- The Orediggers now own a 17-match win streak against the Yellow Jackets.
- Saturday gave Mines volleyball its first win in the month of October and its first since a five-set victory over Westminster on Homecoming Weekend at the end of September.
- The Orediggers have swept the Yellow Jackets 12 times in 18 meetings.
- Dunwoody, a true freshman, had a career night on Saturday with five kills, one block, and one dig. All matching or setting new career highs.
- Murillo's four service aces were a career best for the true freshman.
- Storm, in the second match of her collegiate career, upped her team-leading assists average to 10.25 assists per set.
- In the chase for 1,000 career kills, Kinnison sits at 923 including 196 as an Oredigger.
- Mines used 12 players against Black Hills State including two seniors/redshirt seniors, four players in their third year with the program, and four true freshmen. A sophomore and a junior transfer also saw the court.
- The net camera for the challenge review system went out of focus zero times during Saturday's match. There were also zero challenges used.
- Head Coach Jamie Magalei is now 360-133 in her 17th season at the helm.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines hosts #2 MSU Denver on Tuesday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. inside Lockridge Arena. Free live stats and video on the RMAC Network will be available. Tickets can be purchased online or at the door.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines volleyball on "X" (formerly Twitter) at @minesvolleyball and on Instagram at @mines.volleyball. They can also follow all of Mines Athletics year around on Facebook, "X", and Instagram at @MinesAthletics.