Mines (20-3, 14-1) vs. Western Colorado (2-21, 1-14) – Friday, 7 p.m. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
Mines (20-3, 14-1) vs. Colorado Mesa (17-6, 12-3) – Saturday, 5 p.m. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
THE WEEKEND AHEAD
The Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team returns home for matches against Western Colorado and Colorado Mesa Friday and Saturday. In addition to Parents' Night, Alumni Night and Senior Night, the Orediggers can also celebrate a share of the 2018 RMAC regular season title with a pair of wins. Two victories guarantees Mines a share, as does one win and any Dixie State loss. The penultimate situation would be two wins for the Orediggers and a loss for Dixie State, giving Mines the outright, regular-season crown.
LOOKING BACK
After going 1-1 two weeks ago against Colorado Christian and Regis, Mines bounced back with an undefeated weekend as it took down MSU Denver and Chadron State in a pair of road wins. The Orediggers defeated MSU Denver in four sets at the Auraria Event Center.
Lindsey Jin led the way with 13 kills while
Drew Stokes posted a double-double with 43 assists and 14 digs. Mines carried that momentum to Nebraska where it swept passed Chadron State. There, it was
Abby Tiesman leading the offense with 14 kills and
Amanda Donais racking up five service aces.
SCOUTING WESTERN COLORADO
Western Colorado rolls into Golden with just one RMAC win and two total wins on the season. The Mountaineers are riding a four-match losing streak after defeating South Dakota Mines on the road Oct. 6. WCU has been swept 14 times in 2018 but also recorded a sweep of its own against Southern Arkansas in nonconference action. The Mountaineers will look to Kirsten Companik on offense as she leads the team with 145 kills. Hanna Hendrickson serves as floor captain with 590 assists and Cammi Baumann anchors the defense with 284 digs. Baumann also ranks third in the RMAC in service aces per set (0.32).
WHAT'S A MOUNTAINEER
Western Colorado University, previously known as Colorado State Normal School and Western State Colorado University, uses the nickname Mountaineers for its athletics programs. Merriam-Webster defines a Mountaineer as a native or inhabitant of a mountainous region, or a person who clibms mountains for sport. The institution lives up to its nickname as the first school (1901) on the Western Slope of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Western Colorado further embraces its geological location and history with its Mountain Sports program which includes freeride skiing and snowboarding, alpine ski racing, Nordic ski racing and many more. With three freeride skiing athletes qualifying for the Freeride World Tour, it's clear Western Colorado is truly, the Mountaineers.
SCOUTING COLORADO MESA
Colorado Mesa presents an entirely different challenge than that of Western Colorado. The Mavericks are currently tied for third in the RMAC standings and seek their own share of the 2018 RMAC regular season championship. However, the I-70 rivals experienced a hiccup in their title hunt last weekend as they fell to Fort Lewis (8-7, 8-11 RMAC) in five sets in Durango, Colo. The Mavericks also failed to get past Dixie State in Grand Junction Oct. 12 as Mesa has lost two of its last four matches. Despite its recent losses, Colorado Mesa's roster features Kasie Gilfter who boasts the #1 hitting percentage in all of NCAA Division II at .431 on the season. Gilfert has 303 kills in 2018 along with 87 total blocks. Ara Norwood feeds Gilfert from the setter position to the tune of 507 assists. In the back row, Taylor Woods has racked up 416 digs at a rate of 5.01 digs per set.
UNBRANDED YOUNGIN'
Formerly known as Mesa State, Colorado Mesa claims the nickname Mavericks for its athletics teams. In the context of CMU, a maverick is defined as an unbranded calf or yearling. However, the term more commonly refers to an unorthodox or independent-minded person. Maverick is also the nickname of Tom Cruise's character in the 1986 film Top Gun, as well as a steel roller coaster and Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. Maverick is also the title of the famous western television show created by Roy Huggins, running from 1957-62, starring James Garner.
LOCKRIDGE ARENA
Fondly referred to as "The Lock", Mines' home court for volleyball, men's basketball and women's basketball features seating for 3,000 at Oredigger home athletics events. The venue has also twice hosted the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball South Central Regional Tournament. Additionally, Lockridge Arena hosts numerous major campus events and has been graced by the presence of Barack Obama, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye and many others.
WEEKEND PROMOTIONS
In honor of Mines' 2018 Parents Weekend, Oredigger volleyball will honor their parents Friday night against Western Colorado. The Orediggers will also recognize their alumni and seniors Saturday night. Additional promotions include Mines Greek House Night Friday, Food Fight Challenge and Coin War both nights with a Denver Athletic Fan Frenzy T-Shirt Toss at both matches as well.
SERIES HISTORY
With head coach
Jamie Magalei at the helm since 2008, Mines is 11-1 against Western Colorado and 9-4 against Colorado Mesa. The Orediggers have not lost to WCU since 2015 and have swept the Mountaineers nine times in 12 meetings. Mines has swept the Mavericks four times since 2008 and gone five sets with Mesa five times. The Orediggers claimed a 3-0 win over Colorado Mesa in 2017 and hope to do the same in 2018.
2018 SENIOR CLASS
The Orediggers' 2018 graduating class features lone senior
Janice Jin. Since arriving at Mines in 2015, Jin has become the winningest senior in program history, helping the Orediggers go 97-22 prior to this weekend's contests. As of Oct. 25,
Janice Jin has racked up 813 kills, 424 digs and 153 total blocks for Mines. Her efforts have led the Orediggers to two RMAC regular season championships and two RMAC Tournament crowns with three NCAA Tournament appearances. The Colorado Springs native earned All-RMAC Honorable Mention as a freshman, RMAC Tournament MVP as a sophomore and Preseason All-RMAC as a junior. She has spent the last two seasons competing with sister
Lindsey Jin on the team.
NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS
Mines debuted #3 in the first NCAA Regional Rankings of 2018. In the South Central Region, the Orediggers only trail Texas A&M-Commerce (21-5, 13-3 LSC) at #2 and Tarleton State (24-2, 16-0 LSC) at #1. While Mines remains unranked in the AVCA National Rankings, it's the NCAA Regional Rankings that determine which teams will advance to the NCAA postseason. The top eight teams in the final regional poll will advance to the NCAA South Central Regional tournament, hosted by the #1 seed. If the season ended today, Tarleton State would be hosting the first and second rounds with Mines facing off against Regis.
OREDIGGERS BY THE NUMBERS
As a team, Mines is #10 in NCAA Division II in hitting percentage, #13 in assists per set, #15 in win-loss percentage and #16 in kills per set. Individually,
Drew Stokes is #11 in DII in assists per set and #20 in total assists. In 2018, the Orediggers are 11-1 in three-set matches, 4-1 in four-set matches and 5-1 in five-set contests. At the conference level, Mines leads the RMAC in hitting percentage, assists per set, kills per set and service aces per set. The Orediggers are 9-1 inside Lockridge Arena, 9-1 in true road matches and 2-1 in neutral-site affairs.
RMAC RUNDOWN
At #1 in the RMAC standings, Mines is currently in line to host the 2018 RMAC Tournament. As of Oct. 25, the Orediggers would face eighth-seeded Fort Lewis. Dixie State slides in as the #2 seed facing UCCS with Colorado Mesa and Colorado Christian facing off in the 3-6 contest. Regis and MSU Denver round out the current field at #4 and #5, respectively. However, Adams State is just two matches back of Fort Lewis with three left to play.
DEPARTMENT-WIDE SUCCESS
As a department, Colorado School of Mines Athletics has found nearly unprecedented of success this fall. Mines' fall teams are a combined 57-5-2 in head-to-head play. Those same programs are 44-1-1 in RMAC action. The Orediggers' opposition has featured seven nationally-ranked opponents. To cap it off, five of Mines' fall teams are nationally-ranked in the top-10. None of this includes Mines' cross country teams that have won two of its three races this season, including the Rock Pre-Nationals in Pittsburgh. The Oredigger men are #2 in the country and the women rank #5.
LOOKING AHEAD
Mines closes the 2018 regular season Nov. 2 at home against UCCS. Live stats and video of the matches will be available at www.MinesAthletics.com.
Keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all season long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.
