RAPID CITY, SD – South Dakota Mines Volleyball fell to CSU Pueblo and Colorado Christian over the weekend to drop to 2-2 in the RMAC.
Match 1: Hardrockers vs. CSU Pueblo, 2-3 L
South Dakota Mines was reverse swept against CSU Pueblo to open the weekend.
The Hardrockers won the first set 25-23. With an 8-3 lead in set one, the ThunderWolves went on a 6-1 run to tie the match at 9-9. The Hardrockers responded with a 10-3 run to take a 19-12 lead. CSU Pueblo staged a comeback and tied the score at 23-23, but
Lexi Glendenning and
Maria Bouman closed out the set for the Hardrockers.
In the second set, South Dakota Mines won 25-23 to go up 2-0 in the match. Midway through the set, the Hardrockers went up 16-12, but the ThunderWolves went on a run to go up 23-21 late.
Morgan Daugherty recorded two straight kills, and
Heather Jiricek recorded a block and a kill to give the Hardrockers a 25-23 victory.
CSU Pueblo went on to tie the match with a 25-19 set three win and a 25-21 set four victory. In the fifth, both teams went back and forth. With an early deficit, the Hardrockers tied the score at 7-7 and a
Hannah Benes ace gave them a 9-8 lead. With an 11-9 lead in hand, the ThunderWolves went on a 6-2 run to win the set 15-13 and the match 3-2.
Daugherty highlighted for the Hardrockers with her 22 kills and .390 hitting percentage. Glendenning recorded 22 kills and four digs.
Joy Aburto picked up 13 kills, seven digs and two blocks. Defensively, Benes collected 27 digs.
Hannah Joseph tallied 54 assists and seven digs.
The Hardrockers recorded 68 total kills, 10 blocks, seven aces and 77 digs in the match.
Match 2: Hardrockers vs. Colorado Christian, 0-3 L
In the second match of the weekend, South Dakota Mines fell 3-0 to Colorado Christian.
The Cougars won set one 25-19. The Hardrockers had an early lead until Colorado Christian went on a run to go up 20-14. South Dakota Mines attempted a comeback but fell 25-19 to the Cougars.
In the closest set of the night, the Cougars won 25-20 in set two to go up 2-0 in the match. Both teams traded points until they were tied 20-20. Colorado Christian recorded five straight points to close out set two.
Colorado Christian went on to win the match 3-0 with a 25-18 third set win. With a 24-13 lead, the Hardrockers put up five straight points but ultimately fell 25-18.
Glendenning led the team with nine kills. She also had four digs, one block, an ace and a .364 hitting percentage. Daugherty picked up eight kills, five blocks and three digs. Benes tallied 10 dig, while
Louisa Battin led the team with 14 assists.
With the losses, the Hardrockers moved to 2-10 overall and 2-2 in the RMAC.
What's Next
South Dakota Mines is back in action on Tuesday against Black Hills State. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the King Center. The Hardrockers will welcome Chadron State on Oct. 3 at 6 p.m., before going on the road next weekend to UCCS.
