RAPID CITY, S.D. – The Metropolitan State University of Denver volleyball team suffered its first loss of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon at South Dakota Mines, falling to the Hardrockers in four sets (22-25, 25-20, 23-25, 17-25). The loss snapped MSU Denver's eight-match winning streak.

Playing on a quick turnaround after a 7 p.m. match at Black Hills State Friday night, MSU Denver (12-4, 7-1 RMAC) struggled to defend the South Dakota Mines attack on Saturday. The Hardrockers (8-10, 4-5 RMAC) outhit the Roadrunners, .310 to .305, including a lofty .500 mark in the fourth and final frame.

"South Dakota Mines played an aggressive match that put us on our heels," MSU Denver head coach Jenny Glenn said Saturday.

The Hardrockers, who had already beaten Colorado School of Mines on the road this season when the Orediggers were ranked No. 23 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division II poll, got off to a quick start against the Roadrunners on Saturday afternoon. The home team took a 12-6 advantage in the first set before MSU Denver eventually tied up the count at 16, but a four-point Hardrocker run followed and the Roadrunners couldn't recover in a 25-22 set loss.

MSU Denver battled back, however, and outplayed South Dakota Mines in the second set to even the match at one set apiece. Trailing 12-10, the Roadrunners went on a six-point run thanks to four attack errors by the Hardrockers and never looked back. MSU Denver continued to hit well – .306 for the set – and held South Dakota Mines to a .176 mark during the second stanza for a 25-20 win.

The pesky Hardrockers showed their set one win wasn't a fluke, though, and came back swinging in the third. MSU Denver took an 11-7 lead and seemed to be in control of the momentum, but South Dakota Mines hung around and traded points with the Roadrunners for the middle part of the set.

With the Roadrunners leading 17-15, momentum swung back in favor of the home team as S.D. Mines went on a 7-0 run and took a 22-17 lead. Three consecutive kills from Rylee Hladky helped the Roadrunners get back within two at 22-20 before additional kills from Alyssa Kelling and Jessa Megenhardt tied the set at 22. South Dakota Mines outside hitter Dana Thomson took control late in the set, converting on two kills in the Hardrockers' last three points to give the host a 25-23 victory in the set.

From there, South Dakota Mines kept MSU Denver from finding a groove as the Roadrunners didn't string together more than two points at a time for the entirety of the fourth set. A key 4-0 run elevated South Dakota Mines' lead from 17-15 to 21-15, and at that point, the deficit was too large as the Hardrockers sealed MSU Denver's first RMAC loss with a 25-17 win in the fourth.

Alexis Benda led MSU Denver with 14 kills while Alyssa Kelling had 12 of her own on .524 hitting. Hladky finished the match with 11 kills and a team-leading 10 digs, while Kayla White was in double-digits once again with 10 kills. Megenhardt led the team with 35 assists.

The Roadrunners were limited to just five team blocks, struggling to defend the net despite excelling all season in that regard. Meanwhile, South Dakota Mines had eight rejections and kept the MSU Denver attack at bay just enough to hand the Roadrunners a rare defeat.

"We didn't do the things that are a strength for us," Glenn said. "That is uncharacteristic of this team."

MSU Denver looks to get back to its characteristic winning ways at home next weekend, facing Dixie State at 7 p.m. Friday and Westminster at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Auraria Event Center.