RAPID CITY, S.D. --- The South Dakota School of Mines women's volleyball team may have dropped its Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference matchup against No. 24 national ranked Colorado Mesa Mavericks, 3-0, but the Lady Hardrockers stood toe-to-toe with their opponents and made them earn every point.
 
The Hardrockers remained competitive in the match despite several starters lost to injury including junior middle hitter Emily Newton and freshman setter Allie Boggs.
 
"We played very even with them for the first two sets and they are nationally ranked. We held them below .200 in Set 1 and outhit them in Set 2, so that was encouraging," said Hardrocker volleyball head coach Doug Tabbert. " We also outblocked them through the first two sets and they are very potent offensively. Furthermore, we held their most impactful hitter below .100 for the match.  Those are all things to feel good about.  Set 3 was a very different story for us, unfortunately."
 
The Mavericks defeated SD Mines, 25-20, 29-27, 25-10. The Hardrockers ended the match with 29 kills and was 80-99 on the attack. They also grabbed 27 assists, 40 digs and came away with nine total blocks. Colorado Mesa recorded 41 kills and was 88-99 on the attack with 38 assists, 47 digs and an impressive 24 total blocks.
 
Individually for the Hardrockers, freshman Kenzie Devries paced the team with 10 kills and was 22-29 on the attack and came up with nine digs and one solo block. Fellow freshman Hannah Stevenson contributed with five kills and was 11-17 on the attack.
 
SD Mines sophomore setter Elizabeth Jensen had 22 of the team's 27 assists and also led her squad with 15 digs.
 
"Sometimes the hardest lessons are the ones that stick the most. Set 2 was one of those situations. We played so well for so long and then tightened up when we should have closed it out," Tabbert said. "That is a significant learning opportunity for a youthful team and we have to become better for it."
 
The loss drops SD Mines to 1-22 on the season and 0-12 in the conference. Next up, the Hardrockers head to MSU-Denver on Friday and UCCS in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Saturday.