GOLDEN, Colo. – Mines volleyball handled CSU Pueblo's elite block with ease Saturday night as the Orediggers rolled to a 3-0 win against the ThunderWolves.
No other player in the match had more kills than
Abbie O'Shay who knocked down 10 with one error while hitting .529.
Jenna McLaughlin and
Caroline Walden recorded nine kills each.
Emily Rohrer came off the bench and notched eight kills with a .417 attack percentage on the right side.
Kaiya Gilbert provided a highly-efficient, utilitarian effort from the setter position. She had 29 assists, eight digs, five total blocks, four kills, a .667 attack percentage, and two service aces. Defensively,
Francesca Nuzzo played her role at libero by grinding out 12 digs. She had seven assists and one ace as well. O'Shay and McLaughlin enhanced the block party with four stuffs each.
The victory for Mines (13-3, 4-2) marked the Orediggers' sixth consecutive 3-0 win. Despite ranking #3 in the nation in total blocks and #5 nationally in blocks per set, CSU Pueblo (8-9, 3-3 RMAC) couldn't stop the home attack which converted at a .337 pace. Mines' defense out blocked the ThunderWolves, 8-6, and limited "The Pack" to a .112 attack percentage. The Orediggers also rallied behind a 5-1 advantage in service aces. In the final box score, Mines led in every significant statistical category. The Orediggers now tout the second-best record in RMAC play and are tied for the best overall record in the conference.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Saturday's opening set was a grind. There were seven ties and six lead changes. The visitors notched three total blocks and held Mines to .207 on the attack. The Orediggers offset that production with 4.0 total blocks while forcing nine attack errors by CSU Pueblo. The result was a .114 attack percentage for the ThunderWolves and a 25-19 win for the home team. Along the way, Gilbert teamed up on four blocks and
Caroline Walden hammered out four kills.
The recipe remained the same in the second set as the Orediggers out blocked "The Pack", 3-2, and hit .289 compared to .146. Seven ties and four lead changes came early in the frame before Mines pulled away to a 25-20 win. Rohrer was the star in the game after posting six kills on seven attempts with zero errors. That equated to an .857 attack percentage. Gilbert also had 11 assists, one ace, and four digs.
In the final set, CSU Pueblo seemingly lost steam. The final score was 25-9. McLaughlin stepped up for the home team by providing six error-free kills on eight attempts. Gilbert tallied 12 more assists and another service ace. Mines needed just one block in the runaway win which saw the ThunderWolves attack at a .045 clip while the Orediggers hit .556.
NOTABLES
- Mines improved to 36-25 in the all-time series against CSU Pueblo.
- The Orediggers are also 6-4 in their last 10 meetings with the ThunderWolves.
- Mines has swept eight opponents in 2026.
- The Orediggers' last set loss was on Sept. 12 at then-#18 MSU Denver.
- The last time the Orediggers recorded six straight 3-0 wins was 2021 when they recorded seven consecutive sweeps.
- O'Shay moved past 300 collegiate kills Saturday evening.
- Romslo now touts more than 400 kills as an Oredigger.
- Rohrer's eight kills marked the most in her collegiate career which included four years at Southwest Minnesota State.
- Mines Head Coach
Jamie Magalei is now 397-150 in her 19th season at the helm.
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines hosts Western Colorado next Friday and Fort Lewis on Saturday. Free live stats and video with a subscription to the RMAC Network will be available.
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.
