GOLDEN, Colo. – The Regis University volleyball team jumped into Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) action on Thursday night as they visited the No. 11 ranked Colorado School of Mines Orediggers. Despite career nights from Haley Kennedy and Caitlyn Burroway, Regis (5-4, 0-1 RMAC) was overpowered by Mines (8-1, 1-0 RMAC) through four sets 13-25, 27-25, 22-25, 21-25.
 
How It Happened: It was a rough opening set for the Rangers as they fell behind quickly in the early going. A potent Orediggers attack on their home court proved too much for RU to handle as they finished with a .406 hitting percentage in the first set. Regis hit .172 but only managed eight kills on 29 attempts. The home side had 15 kills and only two attack errors. The Rangers did own an advantage on the defensive end with three blocks to only one for Mines.
 
In a much more competitive set two, RU got revenge as they won the battle beyond 25 points with a 27-25 win to tie the match at two sets apiece. This time the Regis attack doubled the amount of kills they had in set one with 16 in set two, committing only five errors for a .250 hitting percentage. Again, the Rangers held steady at the net with four blocks and added three service aces in the set. A block by junior Nadine Burbrink and sophomore Halle Theis set up match point at 26-25. Junior libero Haley Kennedy stepped up and aced her serve to claim the second set victory.
 
The third set was another good one for the home team as they reclaimed a one-set lead over RU (2-1) with a 25-22 win in the third set. Moving into the fourth set, Regis needed to make something happen, but too many unforced errors held them back. They fell behind early in the set and were forced to climb their way back out of that hole. They managed to get back into the game at 12-15 after junior setter Mara LeGrand linked up with graduate student outside hitter Caitlyn Burroway for her 18^th kill of the match. The deficit reached six-points for the Rangers a few points later, 12-18, as the Orediggers looked to put the match away. However, RU fought their way back to bring the score to 16-19 which forced the home team to call a timeout. Despite the comeback attempt, the fourth set ended on a 6-5 run from Mines which resulted in a 25-21 win for the eleventh-ranked Orediggers.
 
Game Notes: Burroway was on fire offensively for Regis matching a career-best 21 kills in the match with a .340 attack percentage for a 5.25 kills per set average. She also had seven digs, one assist and two service aces along the way. Kennedy broke her previous career single-game record of 25 digs with 26 digs (6.5 per set) in this one which helped keep the offense in system. LeGrand, the reigning setter of the week in the RMAC, had 48 assists on the evening for an average of 12 assists per set. She also had one kill and 12 digs. Theis posted a team-high four blocks with Burbrink adding three and sophomore Maddy Mallory chipping in with two. Senior Rachel Siurek was the only other Regis player in double-figures with 10 kills in the effort.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: The Regis University volleyball team will be back in action tomorrow evening when they visit the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs Mountain Lions at 7 p.m.