GOLDEN, Colo. – On professor appreciation night at Lockridge Arena, the #6 Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team honored its educators with a 3-0 win against Adams State.
 
Taylor Hicken was tops in the match thanks to 12 kills on 18 attempts with zero errors to hit .667. Fellow middle blocker Julia Eiken nearly matched her by hitting .600 with 11 kills. Amanda Donais added 11 kills as well to round out the top hitters. That trio also combined for a total of seven blocks. Elle Duis augmented the defensive effort by racking up 17 digs in just three sets for nearly 6.0 digs per set. April Jergensen joined the backrow party with nine digs of her own. Drew Stokes' resume featured 40 assists, three digs, three kills and two service aces.
 
The victory extends the best start in program history for Mines (14-1, 7-0 RMAC). It also pushed the Orediggers' winning streak to 11 consecutive victories and keeps them tied for first in the conference standings. With the loss, Adams State falls to 7-9 overall while sitting 3-4 in the league. Mines' biggest advantage came on the attack and in the back row. The Orediggers produced a .366 hitting percentage as a team while pumping out 50 digs. Those same categories for the Grizzlies were .157 and 27.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
As first serve inside Lockridge Arena drew closer, the temperature in the gym dropped significantly to accommodate the heat Mines was about to bring. With 10 straight wins fueling them, the Orediggers left no doubt as to whether 11 straight could be achieved. It only took the home team 16 minutes to earn a 25-10 victory in the opening set. Donais and Duis led the charge with five kills and seven digs, respectively.
 
Despite the dominant victory in the opening frame, Adams State would not go quietly. Games two and three called into question the prospects of a straight-set win. The Grizzlies leapt out to an 8-3 lead in set two, but Mines prevailed with a 25-22 advantage behind seven more digs from Duis and seven kills from Eiken in the frame. That decision led to more heated back-and-forth in the third set. Both teams exchanged points all the way to 13-13 and ASU even took a 14-13 lead. However, the Orediggers rolled into a 4-0 run which turned into a 7-2 surge to take a 20-16 lead, and that was all they needed. Service and attack errors riddled ASU's comeback attempts and Mines closed out the 25-21, match-clinching win.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines improved to 33-34 in the all-time series against Adams State and own 12 straight wins over the Grizzlies.
- The Orediggers have now swept the Grizzlies eight times during their win streak.
- So far this season, Mines has swept eight different opponents.
- Hicken boasts double-digit kills in 11 out of 15 matches this fall. She is quickly approaching 800 kills for her career.
- Donais moved over 600 digs for her career in Friday's win.
- Head Coach Jamie Magalei is now 306-99 in her career at Mines.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Orediggers host New Mexico Highlands on Saturday night at 5 p.m. inside Lockridge Arena. Tickets can be purchased online or at the gate. Live stats and video on the RMAC Network will also be offered at www.minesthletics.com.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines volleyball on Twitter at @MinesVolleyball and on Instagram at @mines.volleyball. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.