GOLDEN, Colo. – Losses to Gannon (three sets) and Michigan Tech (four sets) were the result for the Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team on the final day of the Oredigger Volleyball Classic presented by Marriott Denver West, but promise showed and highlights still abounded.
 
Hannah Kinnison topped the list of noteworthy happenings by earning all-tournament distinction. For the weekend, she was top-10 in total kills, kills per set, total digs, and digs per set. The redshirt senior's Saturday included 24 digs, 16 kills, three total blocks, and one service ace across seven sets of action. Other highlights came in the form of a defensive flex by the Orediggers. Ava Swan was a brick wall at the net, tallying eight total blocks at 1.60 blocks per set. Additionally, Olivia Murillo put up 19 digs, Jada Price produced 10 digs, and Taylor Helms helped out on six blocks. Offensively, Kinnison, along with Kate Kudlac and Jenna McLaughlin each notched 16 kills.
 
Mines (1-3) could not overcome a .120 attack percentage for the day, but its defense did force Gannon (1-3) and Michigan Tech (4-0) to work for a combined .279 hitting percentage. The Orediggers extended rallies with 81 digs and knocked down 11 total blocks as a team across seven sets of action. Unfortunately, 13 service aces by the opposition didn't help the cause for the hosts. Another factor was Michigan Tech boasting the weekend's most valuable player (MVP) in Meg Raabe. She and Kinnison were joined on the all-tournament team by Sydney Leffler (Colorado Mesa), Claudia Stahlke (Concordia-St. Paul), Emma Schmidt (Concordia-St. Paul), Sabrina VanDeList (Colorado Mesa), Bri Skala (Regis), Teagan Starkey (Concordia-St. Paul), and Amelia Davis (Regis).
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Orediggers' first match of the day, and third of the weekend, was an uphill battle where Mines did not reach the crest against a quality Gannon squad. The Golden Knights ran away, 25-16 in the first set. They earned at 25-20 victory in game two as well. The final score of the third set was 25-13 which clinched the sweep. Kinnison's seven kills and seven digs were both tops on the team.
 
Promising was the start of Mines' weekend finale. The Orediggers smothered Michigan Tech with shared blocks from Helms, Swan and McLaughlin which held the Huskies to .031 on the attack and resulted in a 25-17, set-one win for the home team. Offensive struggles slowed Mines in games two and three. Oredigger attack percentages sitting under zero and under .200 allowed Michigan Tech to win both frames, 25-12 and 25-18, respectively. Even so, Swan emerged with four total blocks in the second set and Murillo had five digs in the third. A thrilling back-and-forth affair in the fourth set saw two more blocks from Swan, five kills off the hand of Kinnison and a Murillo ace. In the end, MTU clinched the match with a 25-12 win.
 
NOTABLES
- Saturday marked the first-ever meeting between Mines and Michigan Tech on the volleyball court. It was also the first time Gannon had ever defeated the Orediggers.
- Layla Padgett and Emma Dunwoody both made their collegiate debuts on Saturday against Gannon. Padgett went 1-for-1 on the attack.
- Swan finished the first weekend of her collegiate career touting nine total blocks across eight sets in three matches.
- Brianna Binder is just one kill shy of 800 for her career.
- Kinnison surpassed 100 total blocks for her career over the weekend.
- Head Coach Jamie Magalei is now 355-125 in her 17th season at the helm.
 
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.