How It Happened
In the biggest road test of the season, the 18th-ranked Colorado School of Mines passed the test as they earned a hard-fought 3-1 (25-13, 24-26, 27-25, 25-22) victory at Western State.

Mines (15-3, 9-0) remained perfect in conference play with a gutty effort that led by the incredible digging from Taryn Huber and LaRose Currie who had 26 and 22 digs, respectively.

The match opened as though it was going to be a rout at Mines took the opening set 25-13 behind a balanced offensive attack. The Orediggers hit .263 and got three kills from each of Ellie Monarch, Madeline Behr, Ashlyn Eitemiller and Janice Jin.

Then, in the second set, Mines fell behind by as much as 21-14 in what appeared to be a lost set. The Orediggers refused to go away though as the fought all the way back to tie the match at 24-24. Unfortunately, Western State (8-9, 4-5) eked out the frame by taking the final two points.

Mines again fell behind in the third set as the Mountaineers got out to an 18-14 lead. Once again though, the Orediggers kept battling and eventually tied the set up at 20-20. Both teams then battled each other neck-and-neck down the stretch until Mines finally broke through on an Alanna Winfield kill to take the lead and eventually the set, 27-25.

The fourth and final frame was picked up right where the third set ended as neither team could get any separation from the other. Tied at 21 apiece, Mines finally got some separation on back-to-back kills from Ellie Monarch. That ended up being enough as the Orediggers were able to hold off WSCU down the stretch. 

Notables
-    On a night where neither team hit particularly well, it was the defensive play of Taryn Huber and LaRose Currie that led the way with 48 of the game-high 90 digs.
-    Currie nearly missed a double-double with her nine-kill, 22-dig (career-high) effort.
-    Marina Hansen did get the team's only double-double with 25 assists and 11 digs.
-    Ellie Monarch led the way offensively with 13 kills and six blocks.

Up Next
One big road match down and even bigger one on tap tomorrow as the Orediggers head to Colorado Mesa at 4 p.m. in a matchup on two of the RMAC's top teams.