GOLDEN, Colo. – The Colorado School of Mines volleyball defense dominated Friday night in a 3-0 victory against Western Colorado inside Lockridge Arena.
Jenna McLaughlin served as the tip of the spear with her eight total blocks. She added seven error-free kills with a .389 attack percentage as well.
Cadence McDonald and
Abbie O'Shay joined the defensive fun by knocking down four blocks each. That duo on offense totaled 17 kills on a combined hitting percentage of .416. The back row shared the load as
Kaiya Gilbert grinded out an 11-dig, 30-assist double-double.
Francesca Nuzzo notched 10 digs and six assists as well. Gilbert, Nuzzo, and
Sophia Davila enhanced the win by tallying two service aces each.
Mines (14-3, 5-2 RMAC) extended its win streak to seven with all seven victories coming in straight sets. The Orediggers posted 13 blocks as a team while hitting .314 on offense. Western Colorado (7-11, 2-6 RMAC) only had four blocks and hit just .098 on the night. The Mountaineers managed more digs than the home team, 45-42, and they matched Mines with seven service aces. However, the Orediggers' stifling block limited WCU to just 31 kills in three sets.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The night started with a recognition of Mines faculty and staff during the pregame introductions. After that, the Orediggers put on a show for their instructors. They hit .483 in the opening frame and stacked four blocks as a team on the way to a 25-18 win. McDonald provided six of Mines' 16 kills in the first set. The second set was similar as the home team hit .312 and hammered out six more blocks. After just two games, McLaughlin had already collected four total blocks. Western Colorado attempted to rally in the third frame, forcing nine ties and six lead changes while forcing six Oredigger attack errors. In the end, Mines' middle duo of O'Shay and McLaughlin polished off the sweep with six total kills on a combined 16 attacks with zero errors. They also had a total of three blocks in the final frame as the match finished in less than 90 minutes.
NOTABLES
- Mines moved to 41-37-1 all-time against Western Colorado.
- The Orediggers haven't lost to the Mountaineers in Golden in over 25 years.
- The last time WCU defeated Mines in Golden was Oct. 5, 2002, and George W. Bush was President of the United States.
- Mines has totaled nine 3-0 wins in 2026.
- The Orediggers' last set loss was on Sept. 12 at then-#18 MSU Denver.
- The last time the Orediggers recorded seven straight 3-0 wins was 2021 when they recorded seven consecutive sweeps at the end of the regular season and into the postseason.
- Gilbert surpassed 600 assists for the season and her collegiate career.
-
Caroline Walden recorded eight kills Friday to go over 100 for the season and her career. She also matched her single-match high in blocks.
- Mines' 13 total blocks tied the Orediggers' season high. They also had 13 blocks against Rockhurst.
- Mines Head Coach
Jamie Magalei is now 398-150 in her 19th season at the helm.
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines hosts Fort Lewis on Saturday at 5 p.m. inside Lockridge Arena. 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.
