GOLDEN, Colo. – A pair of four-set victories on Friday afternoon against Davenport and Valdosta State pushed the Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team to a 3-0 record during day two of the Oredigger Volleyball Classic presented by Marriott Denver West inside Lockridge Arena.
 
Abbie O'Shay was Mines' most effective performer on the attack, accumulating 25 kills on ..426 hitting across two matches and eight sets of action. O'Shay also added eight total blocks and one service ace in the two victories. Other offensive performers for the Orediggers included Amanda Donais Dudley with 21 kills, Tori Garrett with 20 kills, Jenna McLaughlin with 18 kills, and Naomi Romslo touting 13 kills. Romslo's production came in just one match while hitting .385 on the outside. McLaughlin hit .372 in the middle. Defensively, Donais Dudley pumped out 39 digs and Jada Price put up 23 digs. McLaughlin produced 12 total blocks while Donais Dudley matched O'Shay's eight stuffs. Additional performances of note were Donais Dudley's four service aces and two double-doubles, and Hailee Martinez handing out 86 assists.
 
As a team, Mines turned in a .226 hitting percentage compared to a .081 mark by its opponents. The Orediggers also put up 99 assists, a total of 12 service aces, 136 combined digs, and 22 total blocks. In comparison, Davenport (1-1) and Valdosta State (0-2) combined for 68 assists, 10 aces, 120 digs, and 18 blocks. The telling number was 107 kills for Mines and 70 kills between the other two teams. The 3-0 start is the Orediggers' first since the fall of 2021. Friday marked the first full day of the Oredigger Volleyball classic presented by Marriott Denver West. The event started Thursday evening with a non-conference match between the Orediggers and South Dakota Mines. Friday saw all seven teams play two matches each. Mines, #14 Grand Valley State, and #22 Washburn all enter Saturday with unbeaten records.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Orediggers' first contest of the day was against Davenport which had just pulled out a four-set victory against South Dakota Mines less than two hours before. Despite the quick turnaround, the Panthers came out hot and hung with Mines all the way to 15-15. Davenport even took at 16-15 lead, but O'Shay brought the set even at 16-16 with a kill. Then, Price stepped to the service line for the home team and served out a 7-0 run (8-0 with O'Shay's kill) and locked down a 25-20 win for the Orediggers. After that Davenport grabbed a 25-17 win in game two. However, Mines remained unfazed. Five kills off the hand of Garrett and Martinez's 13 assists locked up game three, 25-13. Four more kills by Garrett closed out game four, 25-15, and the 3-1 victory. Overall, the match between the Panthers and the Orediggers included just seven lead changes (six in the first set) and 22 ties (20 in the first two sets).
 
Mines' second match of the day was against Valdosta State which entered the meeting with a session of rest under its belt. The reprieve almost helped the Blazers get a win in the first set. But in the end, the rest didn't matter. The Orediggers prevailed in a 26-24 win after O'Shay hammered down six kills, Donais Dudley managed four kills, and Martinez churned out 13 assists. Game two went to VSU by a score of 25-22. That prevented a sweep as Mines cruised to wins of 25-12 and 25-13 in sets three and four. Three blocks by McLaughlin, six digs from Donais Dudley, and 13 more Martinez assists highlighted the third frame. The fourth set saw McLaughlin stifle Valdosta State with three additional blocks while Francesca Nuzzo posted six digs. Three service aces by Donais Dudley didn't hurt either.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines are 2-0 in the all-time series against Davenport. They last played the Panthers in the 2018 Oredigger Volleyball Classic.
- The Orediggers are also 2-0 against Valdosta State with the last meeting between Mines and the Blazers coming in 2006 in San Antonio.
- Mines are now 60-20 in its own invitational. The Orediggers are also 54-14 in the invite under Head Coach Jamie Magalei.
- Since 2014, Mines are 32-10 at the Oredigger classic with Friday marking its 10th and 11th four-set victories in the event.
- Donais Dudley has started her collegiate encore with three consecutive double-doubles. That brings the graduate student to 20 in her Oredigger career.
- Donais Dudley also matched her single-match, career high in digs with 20 against Davenport. Her six blocks on the Panthers were also a career best.
- Speaking of double-doubles, Martinez pushed one out against Davenport thanks to 39 assists and 10 digs.
- Martinez also leads the Oredigger Classic with 124 total assists and 10.33 assists per set. Her three blocks on Davenport were a personal best as a NCAA player. She also surpassed 300 NCAA digs on Friday.
- Tori Garrett ranks third in the weekend field with 3.30 kills per set and she's second in points per set with 4.10.
- McLaughlin has the most total blocks so far with 19, and her 1.58 blocks per set rank second.
- Cadence McDonald knocked down her first collegiate kill in Friday's first match.
- Jada Price surpassed 800 digs as an Oredigger.
- Romslo moved over 100 career kills and notched her second collegiate ace.
- Head Coach Jamie Magalei is now 366-139 in her 18th season at the helm.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Orediggers close their own classic on Saturday against #14 Grand Valley State at 4 p.m. Live video will be available with a subscription via the RMAC Network. Free live stats will also be linked on the Mines Athletics home page and on social media.
 
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.