GOLDEN, Colo. – Mines volleyball nearly pulled off a reverse sweep of #4 MSU Denver on Friday night at Lockridge Arena, but a 15-12 margin in the fifth set doomed the Orediggers in their conference opener.
 
Mines (7-2, 0-1 RMAC) had multiple players stuff the box score. Amanda Donais Dudley led the team in kills with 13 and made it a double-double thanks to 15 digs. She added two blocks and one assist as well. Hailee Martinez made it a pair of double-doubles for the Orediggers after shelling out 45 assists and posting 13 digs. She also provided four error-free kills on .571 hitting and registered four total blocks. Jenna McLaughlin's night consisted of 11 kills and five total blocks. Also notable were 10 kills off the hand of Tori Garrett, 18 digs from Francesca Nuzzo, and 17 more digs for Jada Price. MSU Denver (8-1, 1-0 RMAC) benefited from Annika Helf's 19 kills and 18 digs, and Mia Accomazzo's 22 digs.
 
A five-set match defied the numbers in the box score. MSU Denver registered 15 total blocks while Mines had eight. The Roadrunners posted 79 points compared to 65 by the Orediggers. Furthermore, the visitors totaled four service aces and Mines only had two. However, the home team ground out 80 digs and nearly matched MSU Denver in assists. The Roadrunners entered Friday's contest ranked #11 in the nation in team hitting percentage. The Orediggers held their guests to just .233 on the attack. Mines has now played two five-set matches in 2025 and MSU Denver has experienced a quartet of five-set affairs.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
To put it gently, MSU Denver cruised through the first two sets on Friday night at Lockridge Arena. The Roadrunners hit .412 in game one and won, 25-19. Game two ended lopsided, 25-9 as the visitors converted at a .387 clip while Mines was negative on the attack. The Orediggers' only bright spots in the box score were Donais Dudley's four kills and Martinez' 12 assists in the opening frame. However, the tide started to turn late in the third set. Despite facing down a straight-set loss to the nationally-ranked, defending RMAC champions, the Orediggers were far from done.
 
Game three was underscored by 14 ties and nine lead changes. The critical exchange came when Donais Dudley tied the game at 19. That kill resulted in a 5-0 run and pushed Mines ahead of MSU Denver, 23-19. A pair of Roadrunner errors handed the Orediggers a 25-20 win and helped them dodge a sweep. Both Garrett and Donais Dudley registered four kills in the third frame and Martinez churned out 10 assists and six digs. Momentum for Mines carried into the fourth set, which the Orediggers won relatively easily, 25-17. Donais Dudley and McLaughlin each tallied four more kills. Martinez handed out 14 assists. Nuzzo worked her way to eight digs and Price had seven digs of her own.
 
The finale was set with a coin toss and just a race to 15 points in the fifth set. Mines took the early lead and didn't give it up until a 10-10 tie. To that point, there had been six ties and zero lead changes. Unfortunately for the home team, MSU Denver claimed five of the last seven points. An assisted block by the Roadrunners sealed the win despite the Orediggers' timeout right before. Mines' last hurrah was highlighted by Donais Dudley's six digs and four additional digs from Martinez.
 
NOTABLES
- The last time MSU Denver lost a RMAC match was 2023.
- Mines' last win against the Roadrunners was in the 2021 RMAC Tournament championship match.
- Donais Dudley's double-double was her fifth of the season and 22nd of her career.
- The last time Donais Dudley played MSU Denver was in the very same RMAC Tournament championship match and she recorded a 15-kill, 13-dig double-double in five sets.
- Donais Dudley also surpassed 800 digs for her career.
- Martinez now owns four double-doubles as an Oredigger and 13 double-doubles as a college volleyball player.
- Martinez' four kills and four blocks were both collegiate bests for the graduate student.
- Morgan McChesney made her 2025 debut on Friday night.
- Mines Head Coach Jamie Magalei is now 371-141 in her 18th season at the helm.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines continues RMAC action on Saturday at UCCS in Colorado Springs at 3 p.m. Free live stats will be available, as well as live video with a subscription to the RMAC 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.