(2) Mines (23-6) vs. (7) Tarleton State (22-11) – Thursday, 2:30 p.m. – Regis Fieldhouse – Denver, Colo. – [Live Stats] [Live Video] [Bracket]
NCAA Tournament Second Round – Friday, 5 p.m. – Regis Fieldhouse – Denver, Colo. [Tournament Central]
NCAA Regional Final – Saturday, 5 p.m. – Regis Fieldhouse – Denver, Colo. [Tournament Central]
 

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TICKETS AND PARKING
Single-game tickets can be purchased at the door with pricing at $10 for adults, $5 for students and seniors with children ages six, and under, free. Additionally, Colorado School of Mines students can get in for free by showing their Blaster Card at the door. Pre-purchase and online ticket ordering are not available. The best location for public parking is Lot 6, right behind McDonalds off of Federal. Daily or hourly parking passes can be purchased online. Parking on campus is free starting at 4 p.m. on Friday and running through the weekend. For more information, click HERE.
 
WHOLE NEW SEASON
The Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team opens its 11th straight NCAA Division II Volleyball Tournament on Thursday in Denver at Regis Fieldhouse. Mines enters the single-elimination, eight-team South Central Regional tournament as the #2 seed taking on seventh-seeded Tarleton State. It marks a rematch of the 2018 NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinal where TSU ended the Orediggers' season in four sets. Thursday marks Mines' first shot at redemption against the Texans since that fateful match last season. The rest of the bracket features top-seeded host Regis hosting #8 MSU Denver. Angelo State owns the #3 seed and faces #6 West Texas A&M. Rounding out the South Central Region's top eight are fourth-seeded UAFS and fifth-seeded Texas A&M-Commerce. The task is simple. Survive and advance or lose and go home.
 
LOOKING BACK
Last weekend, Mines punched its guaranteed ticket to the NCAA Tournament thanks to an impressive run through the 2019 RMAC Tournament. The Orediggers started at home on Tuesday by taking down Colorado Mesa in five sets. That win put Mines into the tournament semifinals against top-seeded and #5-ranked Regis. The Orediggers proceeded to sweep past the Rangers on their home floor and advance to the tournament's championship match. Pitted against second-seeded MSU Denver, the Orediggers and Roadrunners were forced to play the match on MSU Denver's home floor due to a gas leak inside Regis Fieldhouse. Mines was unfazed and proceeded to claim the RMAC Tournament title in four sets. Abby Tiesman earned RMAC Tournament MVP honors, and the trio of Amanda Donais, Drew Stokes and Elle Duis claimed all-tournament distinction.
 
SCOUTING TARLETON STATE
Tarleton State enters the South Central Regional tournament with an overall mark of 22-11 after going 12-6 in the Lone Star Conference and advancing to the LSC Tournament Championship match. The Texans' started their season 5-3 in non-conference action while knocking off three nationally-ranked opponents. That led to conference play where TSU had an up-and-down season including three consecutive losses St. Edward's, West Texas A&M and Texas A&M-Commerce. However, Tarleton State rebounded with seven straight wins while going 10-2 down the stretch. Individually, Tatyana Tuialii-Umi leads the TSU offense thanks to 397 kills. Lauren Kersey is also over 300 kills on the season at 344 and leads the team hitting .347. Kayla Brannon touts 852 assists. Amari Franklin also has 454 assists for a combined 11.54 assists per set. Adriana Darthuy boasts 38 service aces and 490 digs. Michaela Rodriguez leads all Texans with 494 digs. At the net, it's Sofia Tonga with 139.0 blocks. As a team, Tarleton State ranks #12 in the nation in total blocks, #13 in total kills, #14 in total assists and #24 in total attacks.
 
FORMERLY KNOWN AS…
The official nickname for Tarleton State Athletics is Texans. However, the women's programs use to be known as the TexAnns until the end of the 2018-19 school year when the school announced all teams would go by the Texan moniker. The definition of Texan is pretty straight forward. When used as an adjective, Texan means, "relating to the state of Texas or its inhabitants." In noun form, Texan means, "a native or inhabitant of Texas." Since Tarleton State is located in Stephenville, Texas, the nickname seems pretty appropriate. That leads us to look at Stephenville itself. The town is one of many communities that call itself the Cowboy Capital of the World. Located just over 100 miles south and west of Dallas, the town boasts a population of 20,797 according to a 2017 U.S. Census Bureau report. Founded in 1856, the Central Texas town has produced the likes of golfer Ben Hogan, NFL player Kevin Kolb and former Baylor Football Coach Art Briles. As far as points of interest, Stephenville is 11.89 square miles, has a McDonalds just off the campus of Tarleton State and features three major US highways. Outside of that, we really aren't sure what else Stephenville has to offer. There was even a song written and performed by country artist Kyle Park called, "Leavin' Stephenville."
 
REGIS FIELDHOUSE
Every match of the 2019 NCAA South Central Regional Tournament will be held inside Regis Fieldhouse on the campus of Regis just outside downtown Denver. Built in 1960, the venue seats 1,800 spectators and also serves as the home court for the men's and women's basketball teams. The Fieldhouse also served as the site of the first three rounds of the 2017 NCAA Volleyball tournament. Seating is arranged in two tiers allowing fans courtside access or a birds-eye view of Regis home events.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Mines and Tarleton State have faced off three times in program history. Thursday marks the fourth meeting between the Orediggers and Texans. Mines leads the all-time series 2-1. Last season's meeting in the NCAA Tournament was TSU's first-ever win over the Orediggers. The first two matchups came on Sept. 1, 2012 and Sept. 14, 2013 – both in Golden. Mines claimed both those matches in straight sets. In the most recent meeting, Abby Tiesman racked up 16 kills while Lindsey Jin notched 14 and Taylor Hicken had 12. Tiesman also hit .464 and had one block. Drew Stokes came up with 52 assists, 11 digs and two service aces. Amanda Donais added four service aces while Elle Duis pumped out 17 digs.
 
THE REST OF THE FIELD
We'll try to keep this brief. Top-seeded Regis earned the right to host after going 25-4. The Rangers swept Mines twice in the regular season before the Orediggers returned the favor on Regis' home court in the RMAC Tournament. Angelo State ended up as the #3 seed with an overall record of 28-2. Mines defeated ASU in straight sets on Sept. 14 at the Mountain Lion Invitational hosted by UCCS. So there's that. The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, or UAFS, went 26-6 during the regular season and also got swept by Mines at the UCCS tournament on Sept. 13. At 24-6, Texas A&M-Commerce is the #5 seed thanks to a 24-6 record. While TAMUC and Mines did not play in volleyball this season, the Lions do boast a five-set win over then #1-ranked Tampa. The Lions also lost to ninth-seeded Texas Woman's in the LSC Tournament. Sixth-seeded West Texas A&M posted a mark of 22 wins and six losses in 2019, but never played Mines. The Lady Buffs were bumped from the LSC Tournament by Tarleton State and went 1-4 against other teams in the South Central Regional field. At the #8 seed is a familiar face in MSU Denver. The Roadrunners enter the weekend 23-7 overall after going 0-2 against the Orediggers in 2019. Mines carries a combined record of 5-2 against the South Central Regional Tournament field with its only two losses coming to Regis in the regular season. As previously stated, the Orediggers have not played #5 Texas A&M-Commerce, #6 West Texas A&M or #7 Tarleton State.
 
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Since taking over as the coaching staff in 2008, Jamie Magalei and Heather Roberts have guided Mines to 11 straight NCAA Tournaments (2009-present). Magalei got her first NCAA Tournament victory as head coach in 2011 with a five-set win over Nebraska-Kearney. Overall, the Orediggers are 7-11 in 18 NCAA Tournament matches. Mines is 3-2 in three-set matches, 3-5 in four-set affiars and 1-4 in five-set thrillers. Mines' most recent NCAA Tournament victory came last season in a 3-1 win over MSU Denver in the first round at Tarleton State. Also, since 2015, the Orediggers are 4-0 in the first round thanks to two sweeps and a pair of four-set victories. In that span, Mines' opening round foes have included Texas Woman's, Angelo State and MSU Denver.
 
AVCA NATIONAL RANKINGS
Let it be noted that the national polls have absolutely no bearing on the NCAA Tournament or selection for the field. However, the poll provided by the American Volleyball Coaches Association does provide some context – kind of. The last AVCA Division II Coaches Top 25 was released on Nov. 25. Mines came in at #28 by way of 42 votes. Other South Central teams in the rankings included Regis at #11, Angelo State at #12, UAFS at #31, Tarleton State at #34 and Texas A&M-Commerce at #36. Cal State San Bernardino and Nebraska-Kearney sit #1 and #2, respectively, as the only undefeated teams in all of NCAA Division II.
 
COMIN' IN HOT
Mines rolls into the NCAA Tournament riding an eight-match winning streak. The Orediggers haven't lost a match since Oct. 26 when it fell in five sets at Colorado Christian. Mines' run includes four sweeps over Chadron State, Western Colorado, UCCS and then #5-ranked Regis. Three of the victories were five-set thrillers with two against Colorado Mesa and one against MSU Denver inside Lockridge Arena. The lone four-set affair came at MSU Denver in the RMAC Tournament Championship match. Individually during the winning streak, Abby Tiesman has averaged 3.77 kills and 1.03 blocks per set for a total of 117 kills and 32 blocks. Drew Stokes boasts 365 assists (11.77 aps), 73 digs and 16 blocks. Also, Elle Duis touts an average of 4.39 digs per set thanks to 136 digs in the back row. As team, Mines' winning streak features an overall hitting percentage of .246 while holding the opposition to .184 on the attack.
 
STATISTCAL RANKINGS
In the NCAA Division II National Statistical Rankings, Mines ranks #2 in assists per set, #4 in kills per set, #8 in hitting percentage and #26 in total assists. Individually, Drew Stokes ranks #2 in the nation in assists per set and #13 in total assists. Abby Tiesman is #12 nationally in points per set, #15 in hitting percentage and #40 in kills per set. And now you know.
 
FUN COACH FACTS
The NCAA Tournament has arrived. We already know about Coach Magalei's record as a coach in the NCAA Tournament, but how was she as a player? From 2001-04 at the University of North Dakota, Magalei's teams made two trips and played three matches in the NCAA Division II Volleyball Tournament. In her sophomore season, Magalei did not appear in UND's three-set loss to South Dakota State in the first round. However, Magalei did appear in the NCAA Tournament as a junior and led North Dakota to a five-set victory over Minnesota-Duluth. She dished out 61 assists and racked up 19 digs with four kills and one ace in the victory. Magalei finished the 2003 NCAA Tournament, her only national postseason appearance, with 103 assists and 35 digs over eight sets with three aces and six kills – good enough for 12.875 assists and 4.375 digs per set. As a player, Magalei went 1-1 in NCAA Tournament matches she played in. It should also be noted that assistant coach Heather Roberts made one appearance in the NAIA Region V Tournament, but statistics were unavailable.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
A win for Mines on Thursday advances the Orediggers into the South Central Regional semifinals on Friday at 5 p.m. against the winner of Angelo State vs. West Texas A&M. However, a loss would end Mines' 2019 campaign. Additional information on future 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. Fans can also follow Mines Volleyball on Twitter using the handle @MinesVolleyball.