The South Dakota School of Mines volleyball took down the #23 Colorado Mines Orediggers in 5 sets on Saturday night in Golden, Colorado.

The Hardrockers won the match in 5 sets after being down 0-2 after the completion of the first two sets.  This was the first time in the Division 2 era that the Hardrockers have beaten a nationally ranked opponent and the first time in history that they were able to beat the Orediggers.

In the opening set the Hardrockers were able to play point for point with the Orediggers for the first 5 points.  Then, the Orediggers were able to jump ahead by 5 points due to the efforts of their middle blocker Taylor Hicken, as she posted 3 kills in a span of 5 points. The 'Rockers clawed their way back to a score of 11-13 in set one after going pin to pin with Dana Thomson and Chelsea Brewster kills. The Oredigger offense posted 16 kills in the set and hit .452 and with that they took the set 25-17. The second set continued in a similar fashion as the Orediggers posted 17 kills to the Hardrocker's 9, so the 'Rockers dropped the set 14-25.

The 'Rockers came out on fire in set 3 as they were able to gain momentum from a huge block from Jacey Koethe and Thomson. Anna Thomas was then able to respond with a service ace. The Hardrockers took an early 5-1 lead after a thunderous kill by Victoria Zagorski. The Orediggers were able to claw their way back into the match as the two teams were knotted up at 7-7. The set was dictated by the middle blockers on both sides. Towards the end of the set, the 'Rockers found themselves down 17-21, but they did not lose hope. They did the exact opposite of that and battled through to take the set 27-25.  Senior Allie Brown found herself behind the service line for 3 of the final points of the set and was able to put the 'Rockers in prime position to defend the Oredigger attack. The Hardrocker middle blockers Stevenson and Koethe were able to close the set with 2 back to back well executed kills.

In set 4, the Orediggers jumped to a 5-0 lead to open the set led by the duo of Megan Neil and Abby Tiesman.   But, the confidence the Hardrockers were able to gain in set 3 was unwavering as they were able to tie the match at point 10 following a few momentum shifting blocks and kills. After point 11, the Hardrockers took the lead and never looked back. Stevenson was nearly unstoppable in the middle position for the 'Rockers as she seemed to score every time she touched the ball.  Thomson was able to steal all of the Orediggers hope in set 4 as she pounded a ball on point 23 that nearly dented the floor on the Oredigger side.  The Hardrockers capitalized on 2 attack errors by the Orediggers and closed the set 25-20.

The Hardrockers had an overwhelming amount of energy and enthusiasm following the set 4 victory and it showed as they opened set 5.  They were able to force the Orediggers into an early timeout at 3-1.  Addie Stanley was able to capitalize on the frantic energy on the other side of the court as she tallied an ace at point 5 with her killer float serve. The 'Rockers switched sides with an 8-3 lead after Koethe absolutely demolished a ball out of the middle to the ten-foot line on the Oredigger side. The Oredigger offense was able to string together a few points to make the final set a bit more interesting, but the Hardrockers never panicked. They continued to dictate the energy and pace of the game no matter what the Orediggers tried to throw at them. The final set was tied at 13-13 and the two teams continued to trade points but the 'Rockers never lost the lead.  The Hardrockers were able to win the set and match following two kills from Stevenson.

The Hardrocker offense put away 50 kills on 165 attempts while hitting .182. The 'Rocker block posted 10 blocks in the match. The Hardrockers were led by senior middle blocker Hannah Stevenson who posted 13 kills on 30 attempts while hitting .400; she was also able to chip in 3 block assists. Dana Thomson finished the match with 13 kills, as well.  Thomson and Jacey Koethe both posted 5 blocks on the night. Chelsea Brewster proved to be a huge asset for the Hardrocker block as she tallied 4 blocks and countless positive block touches while playing on both pins. Setter Shyann Bastian controlled the Hardrocker offense as she dished out 42 assists and was able to tally 4 kills for herself. Anna Thomas posted a match high 25 digs after a stellar defensive performance in the libero position thanks to the efforts of her fellow defensive specialists Allie Brown, Krissie Luce, and Addie Stanley.

The Hardrocker bench and fans deemed to be vital for the success of the Hardrockers tonight, as they provided a contagious, electric energy that steadied the Hardrockers confidence through the match.

The Hardrockers will return to action on Tuesday night as they take on RMAC rival Black Hills State in Spearfish, SD at 7p.m.