The South Dakota School of Mines volleyball team took down the Grizzlies of Adams State in an RMAC showdown Saturday night.
The Hardrockers beat the Grizzlies in four sets, 25-17, 25-16, 21-25, 33-31.
The 'Rocker offense came out in a dominant fashion as they put away 18 kills in 32 attempts in the first set. They hit a sizzling .406 as a team in the opening set while they held the Grizzlies to a .179 hitting percentage.
In set two the Grizzlies were neck and neck with the Hardrockers for the first 12 points. There were 10 tied scores and two lead changes.  The 'Rockers pulled away from Adams State at point 17 as Krissie Luce served 7 straight points that were able to put the Hardrocker offense in prime position to put the ball away. The Hardrockers tallied 12 kills in the set while holding the Grizzlies to only 8. Jacey Koethe closed the set for the Hardrockers off a thunderous kill that was untouched.
The 'Rockers had an early 8-4 lead in the third set but the Grizzlie offense made a few changes and they were able to claw their way to a 13-10 lead over the Hardrockers. They posted their best set hitting percentage of the match at .211 while they held the Hardrockers to a hitting percentage of .111. Adams State took the third set 25-21 by capitalizing on the Hardrocker errors.
The Grizzlies jumped out to an early lead in set 4 as they opened the set on a 4-0 run. Then they continued to build their lead through the 4th set as they led 16-6. But, this didn't faze the Hardrockers of SD Mines. They fought hard to better defend the Adams State attack toward the end of the set and it payed off. Although the Grizzlies posted 21 kills in the set in comparison to the Hardrockers 17, the 'Rockers maintained a higher hitting percentage in the set. The set was tied at 10 points and it took the Hardrockers a few extra point to close the set and match. The Hardrockers sealed the match off an ace from Koethe at point 32 then followed up with a crowd pleasing kill down the line from Dana Thomson.
The 'Rockers were able to out number the Grizzlies in every single statistical category. The Hardrocker offense posted 61 kills on 160 attempts while hitting .237 as a team. They outnumbered the Grizzles 78 to 63 in digs and  11 to 10 in total team blocks. The Hardrockers were also able to side out at an impressive 60 percent throughout the match.
The Hardrockers had three players in double digit kills. Following her historic performance Friday night, outside hitter Dana Thomson followed up with another standout night as she posted 22 kills on 54 attempts while hitting .259. Right side Victoria Zagorski posted a career high with 12 kills while hitting an astonishing .550 in the match. Jacey Koethe also added 11 kills from the middle to help keep the Hardrocker offense balanced. Shyann Bastian tallied 31 assists on the night while Kassie Luce chipped in 23.
Defensively Anna Thomas led the way for the Hardrockers as she posted a match high 24 digs. Thomson notched her 11th double double of the season as she added in 19 digs. Both Koethe and Dejah Behrend posted 5 block assists in the match.
The Hardrocker servers brought the pressure to the Grizzlie passers as they tallied 9 aces on the night. Koethe Thomson and Thomas each had two. Their serving game proved to be the difference maker, as they were able to limit the Grizzlie attack.
The Grizzlies were only able to post 50 kills in the 4 sets while hitting .158. Riley Ogelvie was the only player to reach double digit kills as she tallied 14 kills while hitting .333.
The Hardrockers will return to RMAC action next weekend as they fight for conference tournament berth as they face Colorado Christian and Regis next weekend in the King Center.
