The South Dakota School of Mines Volleyball team competed against the University of Sioux Falls Cougars and the Fort Hays State Tigers in day two of the Best Western West Hills Eagle Classic.

The Hardrockers were off to a slow start in set one against the Cougars, as they dropped the set 16-25.  They were able to bounce back in set two, but the Cougars escaped with set 2 with a score of 22-25. Set three remained equally as tight as set 2 with 8 tied points and 8 lead changes.  Unfortunately the Hardrockers were unable to close the set, as they lost 23-25.

The Hardrockers struggled to control the offensive threat of the Cougars' outside hitters. The Cougars were able to apply a lot of pressure behind the serving line which led to 10 Hardrocker reception errors.

Yet again, the Hardrocker offense was led by Dana Thomson and Caryn Hazard who posted 10 and 9 kills each. Anna Thomas steadied the defense with a match high 13 digs.

The Hardrockers found themselves in the third, five set match of the weekend against Fort Hays State, 21-25, 25-23,21-25,27-25, 13-15.  It was another nail bitter that came down to the final two points of the fifth set.

The Hardrockers were unable to slow down Delaney Humm and Tatum Bartles who both had 22 kills each.  The quick tempo offense ran by Fort Hays made it tough for the Hardrocker block to keep up.  The Tigers hit .181 overall, while the Hardrockers posted a .120 hitting percentage. 

Caryn Hazard paced the Hardrocker offense with 20 kills on 57 attempts while hitting .228.  Hazard was the only Hardrocker to post double digit kills.  Anna Thomas tallied a match high 24 digs.  Bastian controlled the offense with 32 of the teams 51 assists, as well as chipping in a match high three aces and nine digs.

The Hardrockers will return to action next weekend as they travel to Saint Cloud State to compete in the Best Western Plus Kelly Inn Huskies Classic.  They will face Bemidji State, Minnesota Crookston, Duluth, and Lake Superior University.