RAPID CITY, S.D. – The South Dakota Mines volleyball team hosted regional rival, Chadron State on Halloween, Thursday night in a non-conference matchup.
Looking to build on their most recent performance against New Mexico Highlands, the Hardrockers picked up a four-set victory over an opponent who has given them some struggles the last couple of seasons in Chadron State.
South Dakota Mines dominated the first two sets, before battling in a third set loss and picking up a back-and-forth fourth set to move to 13-8 overall.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hardrockers controlled the first two sets in a major way, starting with a 9-1 lead from the getgo, before getting out to leads of 15-4 and eventually winning the first set 25-11 thanks in part to
Alessandra Meoni who had seven kills including four straight for the Hardrockers near the end of the set.
More South Dakota Mines dominance in the second set led to early leads of 3-0, 10-4 and 12-5. Four straight points late would open it up for SDM, taking a 21-13 lead before closing it out 25-19.
Chadron State was prepared in the third set and battled throughout, taking a 9-6 lead early and going up by as much as 6, 16-10. The late part of the set was back and forth as three straight Hardrocker points gave South Dakota Mines a 22-21 lead, but with the Hardrockers leading 23-22, Chadron State would score three straight to win it, 25-23 and push the match to a fourth set.
Early in the fourth, the Hardrockers again held relatively large leads of 5-1 and 10-5 but this one would be a battle. A four-point run late in the set capped off by kills from
Ivy Vindivich and
Annelise Larson was crucial as it gave SDM a six-point advantage, allowing them to win the set, 25-23 and the match, 3-1.
NOTES
Alessandra Meoni was phenomenal, recording 20 kills with a hitting percentage of .486 while also totaling eight digs, two blocks and a service ace…
Jenna Curtis had 17 kills while hitting .267…
Heather Jiricek continued to play well in the middle and had a hitting percentage of .385…
Kiley Metzger recorded 54 assists to go along with 11 digs to give her a double-double…
Hannah Benes had 27 digs while
Emma Grimm,
Rachel Mau and
Josey Wickersham also posted double digits with 16, 11 and 10.
UP NEXT
After an off day on Friday, the Hardrockers are back in action in the King Center for a matchup with CSU Pueblo on Saturday in another non-conference matchup.
You can find the latest on South Dakota Mines volleyball all year long on X and Instagram (@hardrockervb), while also following on Facebook at Hardrocker Volleyball. The latest on South Dakota Mines athletics can be found by following us on X at @GoHardrockers, hardrockerathletics on Instagram and Hardrocker Athletics on Facebook.
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.
