NAMPA, Idaho – One win and one loss were the results on Thursday for the Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team as part of the first day of the Hampton Inn Nighthawks Classic hosted by Northwest Nazarene.
 
The Orediggers started the day with a 3-1 win against Seattle Pacific before falling in straight sets at the hands of the host Nighthawks. Jenna McLaughlin was the Mines leader on offense for the day. She produced 26 kills and a .436 attack percentage. McLaughlin turned in nine total blocks as well. Tori Garett was notable on offense as well, producing 18 kills and two service aces. On defense, Jada price churned out 25 digs and Francesca Nuzzo posted 35 digs. Additionally, Abbie O'Shay matched McLaughlin's nine total blocks. Nuzzo headed to the hotel touting seven total blocks. Oredigger setter Hailee Martinez emerged from the rubble boasting 67 assists, 19 digs, three service aces and two total blocks.
 
Mines (5-1) improved to 5-0 with its four-set win against Seattle Pacific before suffering a 3-0 loss to Northwest Nazarene. For the day, the Orediggers had a .196 attack percentage compared to a .196 mark by their opponents. Unfortunately, SPU and NNU combined for more kills, more assists, more service aces, fewer service errors, and more digs than Mines. The Orediggers did pound out 19 total blocks while the Falcons and Nighthawks only managed 11 stuffs.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Thursday morning brought the Orediggers' first match away from home in 2025. Seattle Pacific took the first frame despite Nuzzo's four kills and five digs with seven more digs from Price. After that, Mines rolled. Tori Garrett's four kills and five more digs from Nuzzo highlighted a 25-12 win in game two. Extra points in set three resulted in eight kills by McLaughlin, 20 assists off the hands of Martinez, and 10 more digs from Nuzzo. The final score was 29-27. The Orediggers closed out the victory and clinched a 5-0 record in frame four after Amanda Donais Dudley hammered out five kills. Nuzzo added seven digs in the game and finished the match touting 27 digs.
 
The evening session fell in favor of the home team. Northwest Nazarene took wins of 25-20, 25-20, and 25-19 on the way to a 3-0 win. McLaughlin posted five kills in .357 hitting in the first set. She also produced three total blocks in the second game. Mines' highlight in the third frame was four more kills by McLaughlin.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines now holds an all-time record of 3-3 at the Northwest Nazarene Tournament.
- The Orediggers improved to 2-2 in the all-time series against Seattle Pacific, but fell to 2-1 against Northwest Nazarene.
- Hailee Martinez had a 44-assist, 14-dig double-double on Thursday morning.
- Garrett, Nuzzo, and O'Shay all collected multiple career highs against Seattle Pacific.
- Nuzzo's four total blocks on Thursday evening marked a single-match best as an Oredigger.
- McLaughlin's day in Idaho moved her past 200 career kills.
-  Olivia Murillo also surpassed 300 digs as a collegiate volleyball player.
- Head Coach Jamie Magalei is now 369-140 in her 18th season at the helm.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines faces Concordia University Irvine on Friday at 4:30 p.m. in Nampa, Idaho. Free live stats will be available, as well as live video with a subscription to the GNAC Network.
 
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.