PUEBLO, Colo. - The Colorado State University Pueblo Volleyball team continued their hot start in conference play, defeating South Dakota Mines three games to one on Saturday afternoon at Massari Arena.
With the win, the ThunderWolves improve to 9-3 overall and 4-0 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play, while South Dakota Mines falls to 7-5 overall and 3-1 in RMAC play.
CSU Pueblo lit up the stat-sheet on Saturday's match on both sides of the ball. The Pack hit .293 on the offensive end with 54 kills. On the defensive end, the Pack held the Hardrockers to just a 0.99 hitting percentage, while accumulating 54 digs.
Kaitlyn Hall (Colorado Springs, Colo./Falcon) led the team in kills with 15, hitting .519.
Sadie Scoville (Pleasant Grove, Utah/Pleasant Grove), and
Rayliene Joens (Elkhorn, Neb./Winona State) were both in double-figures as well with 12 kills, and 10 kills.
Natalie Hamann (Monument, Colo./Lewis Palmer) had her coming out party, as the freshman was inserted into the lineup early on by Head Coach
Austin Albers to get a spark off the bench. Hamann had three assists, and was second on the team in digs with 11.
ABOUT THE WIN
CSU Pueblo started the game off nicely, taking an early 7-3 lead in the first set, but South Dakota Mines had a swift answer, tying the game at nine apiece.
With the score at 13-13, the Hardrockers went on a 3-0 run to take their first lead of the match. CSU Pueblo could not recover, eventually dropping the first set 25-20.
Something was said by Albers in the huddle between sets, because the ThunderWolves dominated from here on out.
Albers started the freshman Hamann in the second, and that was just the spark the Pack needed.
CSU Pueblo dominated the second set, winning 25-13 behind five kills each from Hall and Scoville.
The third set was a little closer, but the Pack eventually pulled away from a 14-14 tie to win 25-18.
The Pack had no desire to stick around for a fifth set, as the started off the fourth set with a 9-1 lead with kills from Scoville, Joens,
Macy Wood (Sandy, Utah/Alta), and
Josey Nunn (Kingwood, Texas/Porter).
This is where the ThunderWolves asserted their defensive presence, as they held the Hardrockers to just 17 points in the set, eventually taking the fourth and final set 25-17.
UP NEXT FOR THE PACK
CSU Pueblo is back in action next week with two home matches against RMAC teams. Neither match will count toward RMAC standings, with UCCS making their way to Pueblo on Tuesday evening for the ThunderWolves annual "So Long Summer" event, and Homecoming/Alumni Night on Friday at home vs. Regis.
