DENVER, Colo. – Mines volleyball lost a heartbreaking, five-set match to Colorado Mesa Friday night in the second semifinal of the RMAC tournament on the campus of MSU Denver.
Naomi Romslo's 19 kills were the most in the match, and she did it on .300 hitting. Romslo also had seven digs.
Jenna McLaughlin recorded 16 kills at a .412 clap while adding four digs and three total blocks.
Abbie O'Shay notched 11 kills and two blocks. In the back row,
Francesca Nuzzo grinded out 31 digs and chipped in two aces with six assists.
Sophia Davila produced 12 digs and an ace.
Kaiya Gilbert's final line featured 50 assists, nine digs, and four total blocks.
With the loss, Mines (24-4) saw its 17-match win streak snapped as the Orediggers' RMAC tournament came to a close. Colorado Mesa (23-5) avenged a pair of 3-0 losses to Mines from the regular season while advancing to the tournament final for the first time since 2018. The Orediggers had more blocks in the match than CMU, but the Mavericks still hit .312 as a team. Mines was limited to .233 on the attack due in large part to Colorado Mesa's 88 digs. The Mavericks also terminated 79 kills compared to 61 by the Orediggers. Saturday's RMAC tournament final pits CMU against top-seeded MSU Denver at 5 p.m. at the Auraria Event Center.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Friday's second semifinal match didn't start until nearly 8:30 p.m. after the first semifinal between MSU Denver and South Dakota Mines lasted five sets. The first two frames between Mines and CMU saw the Mavericks pull away to wins of 25-16 and 25-18 as the lower-seeded squad hit .400 in the first set and .304 in the second set. The Orediggers failed to rally at first due to attack percentages of .211 and .114, respectively. Then, Mines' offense found its rhythm and the home team on the scoreboard started to claw back into the match. The Orediggers hit .316 in the third set and avoided the sweep with a 25-20 win. They stayed above .300 in the fourth set and
Caroline Walden's pivotal kill clinched a 26-24 to force a fifth set. Unfortunately for Mines, CMU's attack came back to life and hammered out 12 kills with just one error. Meanwhile, the Orediggers hit just .217 and had no blocks in a 15-10 loss.
NOTABLES
- Friday marked Mines' first RMAC semifinal appearance since 2022.
- The Orediggers and Mavericks are now 5-5 in their last 10 meetings.
- Friday was also Mines' fifth five-set match of the season.
- Gilbert dished out 50 assists in a match for the third time in her young career.
- Nuzzo's 31 digs were a career high for the senior and the most in a match since Elle Duis had 32 at #22 Hillsdale in 2022.
- Romslo posted a new single-match best with her 19 kills.
- Mines Head Coach
Jamie Magalei is now 408-151 in her 19th season at the helm.
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines now waits for Sunday's NCAA tournament selection show which will determine if the Orediggers' season continues. Spoiler, it should continue, it's just a matter of what seed Mines will get in the South Central Region.
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.
