PUEBLO, Colo. – The Colorado State University Pueblo volleyball team saw a two-set advantage slip away Friday evening, as South Dakota School of Mines rallied to complete a reverse sweep and hand the ThunderWolves a five-set loss inside Massari Arena.
CSU Pueblo (5-7, 2-1 RMAC) captured the opening two sets, 25-22 and 30-28, before the Hardrockers responded by taking the final three frames, 25-18, 25-16 and 15-11. South Dakota Mines improved to 9-2 overall and remained unbeaten in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play at 3-0.
The Pack received a strong offensive performance from senior middle blocker Finja Schul, who finished with 13 kills on just 19 swings while committing only two errors for a match-high .579 hitting percentage. Brianna Pino paced CSU Pueblo with 14 kills and hit .323, while Emma Luce added 10 kills on a .259 clip. Andi Nothdurft chipped in nine kills and was a force at the net with one solo block and eight block assists.
CSU Pueblo came out strong in the opening set, overcoming an early back-and-forth battle to take a 25-22 victory. The second set proved to be the most competitive of the night, with the two teams trading momentum throughout the frame before the ThunderWolves eventually prevailed, 30-28, to move within one set of the victory.
The momentum shifted after the intermission.
South Dakota Mines raised its offensive efficiency considerably in the third set, hitting .306 while limiting the ThunderWolves to a .143 mark. The Hardrockers pulled away for a 25-18 victory before producing their best offensive set of the night in the fourth, hitting .432 with 20 kills and just four errors to force a decisive fifth set.
The ThunderWolves stayed within striking distance during the final frame, but South Dakota Mines was able to create enough separation down the stretch to close the match with a 15-11 win.
Serving proved to be one of the differences in the match, as South Dakota Mines recorded 13 service aces compared to two for CSU Pueblo. The Hardrockers finished the evening hitting .263 with 75 kills, while the Pack hit .242 with 58 kills.
Chinaru Pao led the ThunderWolves defensively with 16 digs, while Kendall Schmitz added 12 digs to go along with 18 assists. Madison Gardner handed out a team-best 24 assists and collected eight digs. CSU Pueblo also totaled 26 block assists as a team, including Nothdurft's eight and four from Grace Helzer.
For South Dakota Mines, Lexi Glendenning led all players with 23 kills while hitting .432, with Cate Warren adding 18 kills and Ivy Vindivich finishing with 17.
The ThunderWolves will look to bounce back Saturday evening when they return to Massari Arena to host Black Hills State at 5 p.m. for Autograph Night.
