GOLDEN, Colo. – The Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 victory over New Mexico Highlands on Saturday evening for its second straight win and an undefeated weekend. 
 
Mines' offensive leaders included Taylor Hicken and Amanda Donais who posted identical stat lines with 11 kills each while hitting .455. Hicken also racked up five blocks. Donais added seven digs, two blocks and one service ace. Abby Tiesman proved efficient on the attack as well, notching nine kills at a clip of .533. Defensively, Lindsey Jin joined Hicken at the block party with four block assists of her own. Elle Duis capped a solid defense effort by tallying 12 digs. Drew Stokes had 41 assists and one kill.
 
As a team, the Orediggers (15-4, 8-3 RMAC) hit .326 and knocked down seven total blocks. Meanwhile, New Mexico Highlands (1-18, 0-11 RMAC) was limited to just .021 on the attack, but did add seven blocks of its own. Mines moves into a tie for #3 in the RMAC standings while NMHU continues seeking its first conference win and extends its losing streak to 15 matches.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
As first served approach on Saturday evening, the golden hour struck Volk Gym with the fall sunlight pouring in through the windows. With that as the backdrop, Mines proceeded to dominate the first sets by identical scores of 25-14. The Orediggers never trailed and the score was never tied. Tiesman led the way in game one, collecting five kills on six attempts with no errors. Hicken was the head of the spear in game two, notching four kills on six attempts without an error.
 
After the intermission, the visitors did give Mines a run for its money. The Cowgirls took an early lead and traded points with the home team which led to eight ties in the final set. However, the Orediggers put together a late, 5-1 run at 20-19 to clinch the victory. Hicken and Jin added an exclamation as they knocked down a thundering block for the final point.
 
NOTABLES
- Since 2012, Mines has won eight consecutive matches against New Mexico Highlands.
- Jin's four blocks Saturday evening match the junior's all-time high.
- Hicken and Jin both went over 100 blocks for their careers in the match against NMHU.
- Elle Duis surpassed 800 digs for her career on Saturday night.
- Tiesman's service ace gives the senior 20 on the season and 59 for her career.
- Stokes accounted for all but one of Mines' 42 assists against the Cowgirls.
- The Orediggers are now 106-14 in RMAC play dating back to 2012.
- Head coach Jamie Magalei is 271-91 in 12 seasons at Mines.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Orediggers face #15 Regis on Friday at the Regis Fieldhouse in Denver at 7 p.m. 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. Fans can also follow Mines Volleyball on Twitter using the handle @MinesVolleyball.