LAKEWOOD, Colo. --- The South Dakota Mines volleyball team defeated the Colorado Christian University Cougars Saturday afternoon in Lakewood 3 sets to 2. The win puts the Hardrockers at 5-11 overall and 2-6 in RMAC play. The Hardrockers will take the court next against Westminster College next Friday night at the King Center.
How It Happened -
The Hardrockers and Cougars traded jabs for the first part of the set until the Hardrockers grabbed a 17-11 lead. The Cougars clawed their way back the rest of the set tying the score 24-24.
Dejah Behrend had a monster kill to give the Hardrockers a 25-24 lead, but the Cougars would score the next three points to take the set 27-25.
Jacey Koethe led the way for the Hardrockers with eight kills, while
Kiley Metzger had 16 assists.
Hannah Benes and
Anna Thomas each had six digs.
The second set started out like the first as both teams took turns with the lead. The Hardrockers extended their lead 17-14. The Hardrockers would lead 22-17, but the Cougars bounced back bringing the score to 22-20. Koethe's kill gave the Hardrockers a 24-22 advantage. The Cougars would storm right back scoring the next four points to win the set 26-24 and go up on the match 2-0.
The Hardrockers had a never say die attitude in the third set, dominating the Cougars from the start. The smallest lead the Hardrockers had was 13-10 and then the Hardrockers took off leading 21-15.
Lily Bartling would finish off the set with a kill and the Hardrockers took set three 25-16.
Paisley Gibson had eight kills in the set.
The Cougars would go up early 4-3 to start the fourth set. The Hardrockers would trail 11-6, but scored two straight to bring the score to 11-8. A little over half way through the set, the Cougars led 15-12, the Hardrockers would rattle off three straight points to bring the set 16-15 in favor of the Cougars. After a Cougar timeout, the Hardrockers scored two quick points to lead the set 17-16. The set was tied 19-19, then the Hardrockers jumped to a three point lead 23-20. They would win the set 25-23 to force a fifth set.
The fifth set starts out like the other four with both teams trading leads. The Hardrockers went up 6-4 then 8-5. Bartling's kill extended the Hardrockers lead to 9-6. Two miscues by the Cougars and the Hardrockers led 11-7. A kill by Koethe, an attack error on the Cougars, and a service error by the Cougars and the Hardrockers defeat Colorado Christian 15-12 to win the match 3-2.
Notes – Koethe came up huge with 23 kills in the win. Gibson added 14 kills. Metzger finished the match with 55 assists, Behrend had seven blocks. On the defensive side of the court, Thomas had 24 digs, while Benes ended the match with 17.
About South Dakota Mines
The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology is a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) and NCAA Division II offering 10 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic programs. The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is a premier NCAA Division II conference with 15 members, as well as four associate members, located in the states of California, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Utah.
