GOLDEN, Colo. – The Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team dropped a five-set heartbreaker to Colorado Mesa Saturday night inside Lockridge Arena.
 
The loss was dealt despite multiple Orediggers producing stellar performances. Abby Tiesman knocked down 19 kills while hitting .500 on the attack. Lindsey Jin and Megan Neil combined for 26 kills as well. Drew Stokes fueled the offense with 58 assists while adding five digs and a service ace. Elle Duis served as the cornerstone on defense, leading all players with 19 digs as Amanda Donais and Hannah Martin added 24 more digs to Mines' total.
 
Mines (21-4, 15-2 RMAC) matched Colorado Mesa (19-6, 14-3 RMAC) in nearly every category including 10 blocks apiece for each team. The Orediggers out-dug and out-assisted the Mavericks, 66-63 and 71-68, respectively. Mesa's Kasie Gilfert led all players with 24 kills. Gilfert leads NCAA Division II in attacking percentage and hit .512 against the Orediggers.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Orediggers got off to a slow start as they dropped the opening set, 25-18. Tiesman racked up five kills in the first game, but Mesa stifled Mines' offense with three total blocks while out-hitting the Orediggers .295-.189.
 
Mines responded with grit in the second set and Tiesman stayed hot with seven more kills. While the Orediggers led a majority of the set with just two lead changes, it took extra points as Taylor Hicken and Megan Neil knocked down the final two points for a 28-26 win to even the match, 1-1.
 
Defense was the story coming out of intermission. Mines built a brick wall in front of the Mavericks' attack, notching seven total blocks in the set. The win would not come easy with 16 ties and four lead changes, but Stokes and Jin recorded back-to-back kills to give the Orediggers a 25-23 victory and their first lead in the match.
 
A knock-down, drag-out fourth set saw the home team hit .341 with Lindsey Jin's five kills leading the way. Tiesman added four more kills of her own with five digs from Elle Duis. Unfortunately for Mines, Colorado Mesa edged the Orediggers hitting .350 with 18 digs to Mines' 16 and two total blocks as the Mavericks evened the match, 25-23. That momentum carried into the final set where the visitors clinched the win, 15-6.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines is 9-5 against Colorado Mesa in the Magalei era.
- Saturday marked senior night for the Orediggers as they honored Janice Jin after the match.
- Janice Jin has over 800 kills in over 100 matches with 98 wins as the winningest senior in program history.
- Tiesman's 19 kills against Mesa match her career high set earlier this season against Dixie State. She is now has over 700 kills in her career.
- Lindsey Jin, sister of Janice, surpassed 600 kills for her career Saturday night.
- Janice Jin knocked down her 150th kill of the season on senior night.
- Donais' 13 digs put her over 200 on the season.
- Mines moves into a tie for first in the RMAC with Dixie State.
- The Orediggers own the head-to-head season series against the Trailblazers.
- Coach Magalei is 253-85 in 11 seasons at Mines.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines closes the regular season hosting UCCS Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. inside Lockridge Arena. Live stats and video of the match will be available at www.minesathletics.com.
 
Keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all season long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.