RAPID CITY, S.D. --- The South Dakota Mines volleyball team followed their dominant Friday night victory with a knock-down, drag-out, fight.
The Hardrockers battled with CSU Pueblo in a matchup that was clear early that it would be a tough one for South Dakota Mines to win, but they were able to claw their way to a gritty, five-set win to pick up the weekend sweep.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first set started with the two teams battling back and forth for each point, and trading runs. It wasn't until 19-19 that the Hardrockers took off, grabbing the last six points of the match, ending it with a
Kiley Metzger kill and a
Kiera Walsh ace.
The second set was more of the same, battling early and through to the middle and late in the set. This time it was a critical CSU Pueblo run with the score at 17-14 that gave them control and an eventual 25-17 victory.
Early in the third, the Hardrockers controlled, taking leads of 5-1 and 11-5 before the Thunderwolves would battle back to within one point, 16-15.
Alessandra Meoni and Walsh would combine for the 'Rockers next three points, giving them a 19-15 edge.
Paisley Gibson would add three more kills to help seal it, 25-21.
CSU Pueblo controlled much of the fourth set, taking leads of 10-5, 15-8, and 20-10 before winning the fourth 25-17.
The fifth set was an absolute battle. It didn't look great for the Hardrockers early, with CSU Pueblo taking a 3-1 edge, but a Metzger kill evened it at 5. Meoni was a big factor in the set, getting four kills, but a crucial challenge with CSU Pueblo appearing to have taken a 12-10 lead, getting overturned and tying it up at 11 gave the Hardrockers life, scoring 4 of the last 5 points on stellar play by
Hannah Benes,
Jenna Curtis,
Paisley Gibson, Metzger, and
Emma Grimm among others with Metzger getting two assists, Curtis and Gibson each getting a kill and combining for a block, helping to lead to a 15-12 win.
NOTES
South Dakota Mines' leading hitter percentage-wise was
Annelise Larson hitting with a success rate of .429…Larson nearly wound up with a double-double, also tallying 9 kills…
Alessandra Meoni led in kills, tallying 15 with a percentage of .302…
Kiley Metzger tallied a season-high, 41 assists, and added a third double-double of the season with 13 digs…
Hannah Benes led with 20 digs, but several were in double figures, including
Rachel Mau,
Josey Wickersham, and
Emma Grimm.
UP NEXT
The Hardrockers head to the road this upcoming week for a regional pod at Chadron State. On Thursday, they meet the host school, Chadron State for a 6:00 p.m. matchup and on Friday they will play Black Hills State on the neutral floor.
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 13 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.
