GOLDEN, Colo.  Tuesday night's opening round of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference volleyball tournament was always going to be an uphill climb for Western Colorado as it was dealt 10th-ranked Colorado School of Mines in the tourney bracket.

The Mountaineers would be trying to end a six-match win streak by the second-seeded Orediggers, a string of matches in which Mines had won 18 consecutive games in shutting out each of their six opponents.

Tuesday's results would extend both of those streaks, unfortunately, as Western fell victim to the host Orediggers by a 3-0 count, ending the Western season.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Colo. School of Mines def. Western Colorado, 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-13)
Records: Western Colorado 13-14, Colo. School of Mines 24-3
Location: Lockridge Arena; Golden, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Western was a stubborn opponent for the Orediggers, especially in the opening set.
• The Mountaineers tied the score at 7-7 on a Kat Finnerty service ace, and a little past midway through the set they edged within three points, 15-12, on a Finnerty and Nicole Gonzales block.
• Mines finally broke away from Western at 16-13, finishing out the set on a 9-2 run.
•  A 3-2 lead early in the second set was the Mountaineers' first of the match. Mines rallied back to wrest the lead away but Western hung tight, staying within rallying distance through a 9-6 Oredigger lead.
• Again, though, Mines was able to break free from the Western challenges, taking 16 of the next 25 points to earn another set victory and inch closer to advancement.
• Western led twice, early, in the third set, but the momentum was too heavily weighted on Mines' side of the net by then as they finished off the deciding set with a 12-point advantage.

MATCH NOTES

• Jordyn Todd rang up six kills to lead the Western attack, but Emily Mangone (five kills), Finnerty (four) and Jaeda Davis-Golliher (four) were right behind.
• Todd flashed a dominating stretch while the Mountaineers were trying to fight back in the third set. She registered a kill to make the score 17-10, added a block assist (with Finnerty) to make it 17-11, then struck down a set from Mangone that cut the lead further, to 17-12.
• Mangone and Todd seemed targeted on serve receive, but both were spectacular under the pressure. Mangone surrendered just one serve receive error in 34 targets, and Todd gave up just one reception error in 25 targets.
• Finnerty was her usual self at the net defensively, finishing her final collegiate game with a pair of solo blocks and four block assists.
• Elizabeth Rupprecht was the Western leader in digs, hitting double digits for the 25th time this season with 15 during the loss. Mangone picked up 14 digs to help the Western defensive efforts.
• Only one Mines player, Taylor Hicken, reached double digits in kills (10), but four others chipped in with nine each to lift the Oredigger attack.
• Along with Finnerty, the tournament match was also the last collegiate match for Gonzales
• Mines advanced into the semifinal round of the RMAC tournament, where it will face third-seeded Colorado Mesa University Friday evening.