NAMPA, Idaho – A thrilling, five-set victory against Saint Martin's marked the start of the Northwest Nazarene Tournament on Thursday for the Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team. The Orediggers closed opening day with a straight-set loss to Point Loma.
 
Once again, Hannah Kinnison was the leader for Mines. She topped the squad in kills and digs with 25 and 31, respectively, on the way to a pair of double-doubles. She also added two service aces and three total blocks. Morgan McChesney was big for the Orediggers as well. The Arvada, Colo., native turned in 18 kills on .333 hitting while providing nine total blocks. Speaking of blocks, Jenna McLaughlin gave Mines 11 across eight sets and knocked down 10 kills on offense. Naomi Romslo came off the bench for 12 kills. Brinleigh Davis managed a majority of the setting duties and finished with 60 assists, four total blocks, and 11 digs. In the back row, Jada Price ground out 26 total digs and Olivia Murillo had 14. Rounding out the highlights was Avery Perreira and her four service aces along with 13 digs.
 
As a team, the Orediggers (2-4) were held to .180 on the attack, but their defense kept Saint Martin's (1-4) and Point Loma (4-0) to a .158 clip. Mines' prowess at the net resulted in a 22-12 advantage in blocks. The Colorado squad also produced 111 digs compared to 112 combined by SMU and PLNU. However, the service game hurt Mines as the opposition converted 16 service aces while the Orediggers only had 12. As previously noted, but worth mentioning again, the Northwest Nazarene Tournament marks Mines' first-ever trip to Idaho to play volleyball.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Mines' first-ever match in the state of Idaho started with an opening set that featured 13 ties and eight lead changes – setting the tone for a thrilling match. While McChesney notched four kills on four attempts and McLaughlin put up four total blocks in the first frame, Saint Martin's still earned a 25-20 win thanks to a .359 attack percentage. The Saints took game two with a wire-to-wire, 25-22 victory which spoiled eight combined kills off the hands of McChesney and Kate Kudlac. That put the Orediggers on the edge of being swept.
 
The third frame saw the tide start to turn in favor of Mines. McLaughlin tallied four more blocks, Kinnison hammered down five kills with one error, and McChesney put down five more errorless kills. Those performances along with Davis' 14 assists and six digs kept the Orediggers off the ropes in a 25-19 win. That victory put the momentum firmly on the side of Mines and the ladies from Colorado never looked back. They easily evened the match at 2-2 thanks to a 25-16 margin in the fourth set. Five kills on .500 hitting by Kinnison led the charge. The decisive fifth set was all Orediggers as well. They rolled to a 15-6, match-clinching victory behind Romslo's four kills without an error and seven digs courtesy of Kinnison.
 
Unfortunately for Mines, its second match of the day was far less thrilling. Unbeaten Point Loma, which entered the day receiving votes in the national poll, took wins of 25-13, 25-19, and 25-22 to win in straight sets. Even so, the Orediggers found improvement each frame and Kinnison closed the day with her second double-double featuring 10 kills and 14 digs. Also notable in the contest were five blocks from McChesney, four more from Taylor Helms, and a 12-dig, two-ace outing from Price.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines improved to 1-1 in the all-time series against Saint Martin's, but fell to 0-2 all-time against Point Loma.
- Brianna Binder reached the 800 mark for career kills.
- Kinnison moved past 500 career digs as well.
- McChesney and Romslo both made their 2024 debuts on Thursday.
- McChesney's 16 kills against Saint Martin's were a career best.
- Davis recorded the first double-double of her collegiate career, tallying 47 assists and 10 digs against SMU.
- Presley Powell matched her career high by knocking down three kills on three attempts against Point Loma.
- Head Coach Jamie Magalei is now 356-126 in her 17th season at the helm.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Orediggers continue their stay in Idaho on Friday with a match against Biola starting at 11:30 a.m. Free live video and stats will be linked on social media and at www.minesathletics.com.
 
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.