ST. CLOUD, Minn. ---
The South Dakota School of Mines volleyball team split matches Saturday during the Best Western Plus Kelly Inn Huskies Volleyball Classic hosted by St. Cloud State in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
The Hardrockers faced Lake Superior State out of Michigan, and their third Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opponent of the season, Minnesota Crookston, in their final day of competition in Saint Cloud.
SD Mines started the day of play by sweeping the Lakers with scores of 25-16, 26-24, 25-20.
The Hardrockers opened the match in a dominating fashion taking the first set 25-16. The 'Rocker block was able to shut down the Laker offense by forcing the Lakers to make 11 attack errors, 6 of which caused by the Hardrocker block.
Set two was a nail bitter, despite the 19 kills the Hardrockers were able to send to the floor. There were 11 lead changes throughout the set. The 'Rockers were able to capitalize on a Laker attack error and a kill by senior Caryn Hazard to close the tight set.
Addie Stanley helped lead the 'Rockers to a 6-1 start in set 3 with 4 straight serves that put the Hardrockers in prime position offensively to rattle off 4 consecutive kills from Dana Thomson and Lily Bartling. The Hardrockers were able to close the match with a 4-point serving run by Anna Thomas and a Jacey Koethe kill.
The Hardrocker offense put away 49 kills in the three-set match while hitting .252. The Hardrockers were paced by Thomson, who posted 15 kills in the match. Hazard and Koethe were also prime contributors to the offensive system with 10 and 7 kills.
Anna Thomas posted a match high 23 digs, while Shyann Bastian and Stanley set the tempo for the Hardrocker offense with 23 and 17 assists.
Despite the dominating win in their morning match, the Hardrockers struggled to get their offensive system in line for their second match of the day, as they dropped the first set against the Golden Eagles 21-25.
The Hardrockers were able to find their stride offensively, as they posted a season high 21 kills in set two. Despite a solid effort by the Golden Eagles, the Hardrockers ran away with the set, 25-22. In set three, the 'Rockers were able to jump out to a 19-11 lead. This momentum carried them to take them to win the set 25-21.
Unfortunately, the Golden Eagles dictated the pace of set 4 as they were able to go on a 5-point serving run as the beginning of the set, and continued to build their lead to 4-13. The Hardrockers were not able to close the gap and dropped the set 13-25.
The Hardrockers then found themselves in their fourth five-set match of the season. They were unable to find control of the set as they didn't lead at any point during set 5. Despite the valiant effort of the Hardrockers in the final four points, the 'Rockers dropped the set 13-15. It was the third 2-point heartbreaker for the Hardrockers.
Yet again Thomson paced the Hardrockers with 17 kills. The Hardrocker middle blockers, Koethe and Hannah Stevenson, had their best performance of the season with 14 and 10 kills. Stevenson was able to post a .444 hitting percentage in addition to her 3 block assists. Bastain dished out 33 assists to the Hardrocker hitters. Thomas posted more the double the total number of digs of any other player in the match.
The Hardrockers look to bounce back quickly as they face Dickinson State on Wednesday night for their first home match of the season. First serve will be at 6 p.m. in the King Center.
Hardrockers Split On Day 1 of Huskie Tourmament
The South Dakota School of Mines women's volleyball team split matches Friday during the Best Western Plus Kelly Inn Huskies Volleyball Classic hosted by St. Cloud State in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
The Hardrockers were up against a couple of great opponents out of the Norther Sun Intercollegiate Conference,  taking on the No. 6 ranked University of Minnesota – Duluth in the Hardrockers' first match of the day followed by a bout against a cagey Bemidji State Beavers squad.
SD Mines fell to the UMD Bulldogs, 3-0, but rebounded in convincing fashion taking down the Beavers in three games, 3-0. Â
In the afternoon session, SD Mines defeated BSU, 25, 19-25, 21, 25-23.
The 'Rockers ended the match with 40 kills on 119 attacks and a .244 hitting percentage. They tacked on 36 assists, came away with seven aces, 52 digs and 11 total blocks. Bemidji closed out the bout with 36 kills on 120 attacks for a .117 hitting percentage. They added 33 assists, three aces, five blocks and 58 digs.
Individually for the 'Rockers,
Dana Thomson led the charge with 15 attacks on 36 attacks for a .389 hitting percentage and two assisted blocks;
Caryn Hazard added 12 kills on 35 attacks for a .314 hitting percentage, one block and seven digs.
Shyann Bastian led the team with 15 assists while
Addie Stanley contributed with 14.
Anna Thomas came up with 21 digs and
Jacey Koethe helped with five assisted blocks and two solo. Â
In the first match of the day, the Hardrockers played a very competitive bout against No. 6 ranked University of Minnesota – Duluth, going toe-to-toe in each set, but the Bulldogs proved why they are one of the top programs in NCAA Div. II, closing out each game to defeat the Hardrockers, 3-0.
UMD defeated SD Mines, 25-21, 25-18, 25-15.
SD Mines finished the match with 25 kills, tallied 86 total attacks and had .174 hitting percentage. They added 22 assists, had four aces, 33 digs and 6 total blocks. The Bulldogs countered with 51 kills on 109 attacks for a .294 hitting percentage to go along with 44 assists, five aces, 46 digs and 5 total blocks.
Individually for the 'Rockers, sophomore
Dana Thomson led the offense with nine kills on 29 attacks for a .276 hitting percentage; Caryn Hazzard added five kills on 22 attacks; and
Hannah Stevenson tacked on four kills on six attacks.
Shyann Bastian led the 'Rockers with 10 assists while
Addie Stanley added seven; and
Anna Thomas had 11 digs for SD Mines.
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