GOLDEN, Colo. – The Colorado State University Pueblo volleyball rebounded from its four-set loss here Friday to Colorado Christian by posting a three-set sweep over Colorado School of Mines (25-18, 25-18, 25-21) in the final match of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Regional pod hosted by Mines held ay Lockridge Arena.
 
With the win, the ThunderWolves improve to 11-11 overall, while Mines falls to 11-10. Neither of these matches this weekend at the RMAC Regional pod counted as RMAC matches.
 
"In our first year experimenting with the pod play structure, I can say that I love to have these challenging matches late in the season. This weekend was a nice test to get our minds right before the final stretch of RMAC play," CSU Pueblo head coach Austin Albers said. "We certainly have things to go to work on this week as we look to get into postseason form as we roll into November."
 
The win was the second in the last eight days by the Pack over the Orediggers as they earned four-set win at Massari Arena last Friday.
 
In Saturday's win, sophomore opposite side hitter Kendall Harrington (San Antonio, Texas/Tom C. Clark) matched a career-high with 17 kills and hit .552, while redshirt sophomore outside hitter Payton Van Veen (Springfield, Mo./Washburn University) added 13 kills and hit .650 and freshman freshman outside hitter Ceanna O'Loughlin (Beaverton, Ore./Jesuit) had 11 kills and hit .444.
 
The Pack hit a season-high .462 as they tallied 50 kills and had just eight errors on 91 attack attempts. The Pack also outblocked the Orediggers, 4-3, but Mines had nine aces to the Pack's six aces.
 
"The team did a great job of preparing for Mines today and going out and executing. To get a sweep in Lockridge isn't an easy task but I thought our offense was elite tonight," Albers said. "We did a good enough job on first contact and our setters were phenomenal in how they spread the ball to our hot hitters, particularly our two opposites who both had a great match."
 
Sophomore outside hitter Sadie Scoville (Pleasant Grove, Utah/Pleasant Grove) paced the Pack defense with 11 digs and two aces, while junior middle blocker Josey Nunn (Kingwood, Texas/Porter) had three blocks and three kills and hit .500 in the win.
 
Junior setter Sabrina King (Parker, Colo./Lutheran) paced the Pack with 25 assists, while senior Grace Jansen (Sandy, Utah/Jordan) had 17 assists and two aces.
 
Mines was paced by eight kills from Rose Stuewe and seven kills from Emily Knight. Mines hit .218 on the night as a team.
 
Set 1: The Pack hit .400 and had 16 kils in the set, including seven kill and a .636 attack percentage from Harrington. In the set, Mines held an early lead in the set, before the Pack used a 9-4 run to turn a 5-3 deficit into a 12-9 lead. Mines, though, responded with a 6-3 run to tie the set at 15. The Pack would answer with a 4-2 run to take a 19-17 following a kill by Harrington. After a kill by Stuewe brought the Orediggers within 19-18 , the Pack would close the set by scoring the final six points, including sealing the 25-18 win with an error the Orediggers. Mines hit .218 with nine kills and seven errors in the set.
 
Set 2: After hitting .400 in the first set, the Pack hit even better in the second set (.516) as they had 18 kills, including five each from Harrington, Van Veen and O'Loughlin. The Pack jumped in front 13-7 and led 18-12 when Mines used a 5-4 run to pull within 22-17. CSU Pueblo would close the set by scoring three of the final four points, including capping the 25-18 win with a kill by Van Veen. Mines hit .273 in the set with 11 kills.
 
Set 3: The third set was competitive throughout as it featured six ties and three lead changes. In the set, Mesa took an early 5-2 lead, before the Pack used a 9-3 run to take an 11-8 lead. The run began with an assisted block by Nunn and Van Veen and was capped by a kill from Van Veen. Mines, though, would respond with a 9-4 run to push in front 17-15. The Pack would answer back with a 7-2 run capped by a Jansen ace to take a 22-19 lead. After a kill by Stuewe brought Mines within 22-20, the Pack closed the set by scoring three of the final four points, including capping the 25-21 win with a service error by Meghan Slaninka. In the set, the Pack hit .467 with 16 kills, including five each from Van Veen and Harrington, while Mines hit .296 with 12 kills.
 
Up Next: The Pack will remain on the road next weekend (Nov. 3-4) as they return to RMAC action with matches in Gunnison, Colo., on Friday, Nov. 3 against Western Colorado at 6 p.m. and a 3 p.m. match on Saturday, Nov. 4 in Durango, Colo., against Fort Lewis.