Sioux Falls, S.D. --- The South Dakota Mines volleyball team started the Augustana Volleyball Classic by defeating the Truman State Bulldogs 3-0 Friday morning. The scores were 25-19; 25-18; 28-26. In the second match, the Hardrockers faced the undefeated and host team, Augustana University. The Hardrockers took the Vikings to 5 sets before losing 3-2. The scores from the second match were 21-25; 25-23; 25-22; 22-25; 7-15.
vs. Truman State
In the first set, the Hardrockers jumped on the Bulldogs early taking a 5-2 lead. The Bulldogs would come back to tie the set 7-7. The set went back and forth with Truman St. leading at one point 14-13. But the Hardrockers would score six straight points to lead 19-14. The Hardrockers would go on to win the set 25-19.
Jacey Koethe led the way with seven kills for the Hardrockers.
In the second set, Truman held an early 5-3 lead until the
Hannah Benes' ace tied the score 7-7. The set would be tied again 12-12, but then the Hardrockers pulled away from the Bulldogs and ended up winning the set 25-18.
Dejah Behrend and
Morgan Daugherty each had three kills in the set.
In the third set, the Hardrockers and Bulldogs went back and forth leading the set. Halfway through the set, the score was tied 16-16, but then the Hardrockers took control scoring six straight points to bring the score to 22-16. But the Bulldogs still had some fight left in them and they clawed their way back into the game and eventually tied the game 24-24 then 26-26. The Hardrockers would score the next two points to win the set 28-26 and the match 3-0. In the set, Koethe and Daugherty each had six kills.
Notes – The Hardrockers as a team 48 kills, 45 assists, nine aces, 51 digs, and five total blocks. Koethe led the way with 14 kills while Daugherty finished with 11.
Kiley Metzger ended up with 41 assists in the match.
vs. Augustana
In the first set against the Vikings, the Hardrockers held an early lead until Augustana tied the set up 13-13. There the Vikings would put up 5 straight points to go ahead 18-13. That run was too much for the Hardrockers to overcome as they dropped the first set 25-21. Behrend and
Emma Grimm each had four kills for the Hardrockers. Metzger added 12 assists, while also having two digs.
The Hardrockers came out hot in the second set scoring the first five points. The Hardrockers would extend the lead to 11-5. The Hardrockers increased their lead by seven 14-7 on
Lily Bartling's kill. Augustana came back after a timeout and scored eight straight points to take the lead 15-14. The Hardrockers would fight back and take the lead late in the set 22-19. After a Hardrocker timeout, South Dakota Mines scored the next point to give the Hardrockers a 23-21 lead. Both teams traded points before the Hardrockers closed the door on the Vikings, winning 25-23 evening the match 1-1.
In the third set, the Vikings jumped out to a 4-1 lead before the Hardrockers battled back to tie the set 7-7 before going ahead 10-8. During the set, they were tied at 15-15 and 18-18. After the 18-18 tie the Hardrockers took off and ended up winning the set 25-22.
With South Dakota Mines up two sets to one, they led the fourth set 6-2. The Hardrockers led until the Vikings tied the set 10-10. The set stayed within one to two points on each side until the Hardrockers tied the set 20-20. The Hardrockers went up 22-21, but the Vikings put up four straight points to win the set 25-22.
The fifth and final set of the match started tight, but the Vikings pulled away, taking the set 15-7 and the match 3-2. The loss put the Hardrockers with a 2-4 record on the year.
Notes – Koethe led the attack for the Hardrockers with 17 kills. She also added eight blocks. Behrend had 13, while Daugherty ended with 10. On the defensive side,
Anna Thomas had 31 digs and
Paisley Gibson scooped up 17.
The Hardrockers will be back in action again tomorrow with two matches against Northern State University and Minnesota State University Moorhead.
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 11 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.
