PUEBLO, Colo. - In an exciting return to Massari Arena on Breast Cancer Awareness Night, it was the women's volleyball team of Colorado State University Pueblo that saw themselves emerge victorious with a slim four-set win (25-11, 25-14, 20-25, 26-24) over the Colorado School of Mines Orediggers in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action.
The ThunderWolves, who saw themselves take two easy set wins over Mines to start, saw some resiliency from the Orediggers as in the third and fourth sets, some life was rejuvenated into Mines when they struck back to win the third set and took the fourth set to a final score of 27-25, with the Pack narrowly taking the win and preventing a fifth set.
With the Pink Out Night victory the Pack move to 9-10 on the year with a 7-2 record in conference play to remain in sole possession of fourth place, while Mines drops to 9-9 overall with a 3-5 mark in the RMAC.
Two members of the Pack recorded double-digit kills on the night with the duo of outside hitters in
Payton Van Veen (Springfield, Mo./Washburn) and
Kendall Harrington (San Antonio, Texas/Tom C. Clark) collecting 27 total kills. Van Veen came home with 14 kills and Harrington saw herself end with 13 kills.
Sabrina King (Parker, Colo./Lutheran) and
Grace Jansen (Sandy, Utah/Jordan) also saw double-digit nights in assists with King having 26 and Jansen having 18.
Josey Nunn (Kingwood, Texas/Porter) tallied seven blocks, along with seven kills and hit .636 to aide the Pack.
For Mines, Naomi Romslo led her team with 11 kills with Presley Powell totaling 42 assists on the night.
Set 1: The Pack came out hot to start the night and after a short back-and-forth battle to begin the set, CSUP was in total control as they never saw themselves trail after the first point of the night. They would win by a margin of 14 with their 25-11 first-set win.
Set 2: Much like the first set, Mines seemed to be still finding their bearings, and after a four-point push late in the set to regain some life, the Pack would end those hopes as they came out on top with a 25-14 second-set win.
Set 3: It seemed that the Orediggers just needed some pressure to get woken up as in the third set they looked to be a whole new team. After being tied early on at 5-5, Mines wouldn't look back as they took the set in a whole new matter. They would win 25-20 and fought off any sweep hopes the Pack were looking to take.
Set 4: In what was the most intense set of the night, The Pack responded to the third set loss from the Orediggers by battling past the 25-point limit. The Pack, who saw themselves trailing by as much as seven points in the set, clawed their way back to finally escape the night with a 27-25 victory in a six-point streak to end the night and win the match.
Up Next: The Pack will return to action on Saturday, October 21 when they face off with No. 6 ranked MSU Denver in a 3 p.m. match at Massari Arena.
