No. 16 Colorado School of Mines proved from the start why it won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular-season volleyball championship.
The top-seeded Orediggers hit .654 in the first game and held eight-seed Fort Lewis College to a .138 attack percentage en route to a 3-0 (25-12, 25-16, 25-21) win in the first round of the RMAC Tournament on Tuesday in Golden.
Colorado Mines (24-5, 18-2 RMAC) had 18 kills in the first game with only one error.
The Skyhawks improved as the match went on and led 20-19 in the third game, but the Orediggers closed the game on a 5-2 run to advance to the semifinals.
FLC (10-18, 10-10 RMAC) saw its hitting percentage decline as the match continued while playing better defense as a whole.
The Orediggers only hit .149 in their third-game victory.
RMAC Player of the Year Melanie Wannamaker led Colorado Mines with 12 kills and a .571 hitting percentage with zero errors.
Alanna Winfield and Sarah Pekarek also cracked double-digits for the Orediggers.
Ashley Wells led FLC with 11 kills but only hit .054 because of nine errors.
The Skyhawks hit .124 as a team in the match.
Colorado Mines outdug FLC 54-39, while both teams registered seven blocks.
FLC head coach Kelley Rifilato – the former Bayfield High School head coach – finished her debut season at 10-18 with an even 10-10 record in conference matches.
The Skyhawks will lose three seniors, including libero Jenna Kinzer, but will return Wells – their leading attacker and an All-RMAC third team selection – and four other juniors next season.
Colorado Mines will host the second and third rounds of the RMAC Tournament Friday and Saturday because it’s the highest remaining seed.
The Orediggers will host fourth-seeded Adams State in their next match.
Adams State swept Regis 3-0 in Alamosa in one of four RMAC Tournament quarterfinals around the league Tuesday night.
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Skyhawks’ Wells named All-RMAC third team
Leading the Fort Lewis College volleyball team to a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament berth helped junior Ashley Wells earn a spot on the 2013 All-RMAC third team.
Wells averaged 3.3 kills per game for the Skyhawks and 2.95 digs per game. She was the only FLC player represented on any of the postseason teams.
Colorado Mines’ Melanie Wannamaker took home RMAC Player of the Year after leading the conference in hitting percentage and ranking second in kills per game.
Orediggers’ setter Danielle Johnson-Hazlewood and outside hitter Alanna Winfield were named the RMAC Setter of the Year and Freshman of the Year, respectively.
Colorado Mines’ head coach Jamie Skadeland won the RMAC Coach of the Year award after leading the Orediggers to a regular-season championship.
Sunni Rae Baird of Colorado Mesa won the RMAC Defensive Player of the Year. She ranked first in the conference with 5.33 digs per games.
Bayfield High School alumna and Adams State setter Gabriella Rifilato was named to the All-RMAC second team.
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