#22 Mines (15-2, 9-0) at New Mexico Highlands (6-11, 4-5) – Friday, 7 p.m. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
#22 Mines (15-2, 9-0) at CSU-Pueblo (4-14, 2-7) – Saturday, 3 p.m. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
 

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SOJOURN SOUTH
The #22-ranked Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team is headed south of Golden for just the second time this season as they travel to Las Vegas, N.M., and Pueblo, Colo. Mines faces New Mexico Highlands Friday and CSU-Pueblo Saturday as the Orediggers look to extended their nine-match win streak and strengthen their grasp on first place in the RMAC standings.
 
HOMECOMING IN REVIEW
Homecoming 2018 was a great success for Mines volleyball. The Orediggers went 2-0 knocking off the top challenger for first place in the RMAC in Dixie State and sweeping past Westminster. Friday featured a five-set thriller against the Trailblazers. Abby Tiesman and Lindsey Jin each recorded 19 kills in the win and Drew Stokes had a career night with 63 assists. Saturday proved to be a breeze as Mines downed the Griffins 25-11, 25-7 and 25-8. Janice Jin led the way with 10 kills and Amanda Donais notched five service aces.
 
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS
New Mexico Highlands enters the weekend 6-11 overall and 4-5 in RMAC play. However, the Cowgirls have only had two home matches so far in 2018. On paper, NMHU appears fairly average. However, Tiffany Matchett brings 189 kills to the table and Elena Rivera has 297 digs which ranks 50th in the nation. The Cowgirls split the setting duties between Celina Naranjo and Samantha Sjogren with 513 combined assists. Taley Ferrari is the team's presence at the net with 40 total blocks on the year.
 
GETTING TO KNOW THE COWGIRLS
The nickname for New Mexico Highlands' athletics teams is Cowboys for the men and Cowgirls for the women. Defined as a girl or woman who tends cattle or horses, or who is a rodeo performer – cowgirl is credited with first being used in 1884, just nine years before NMHU was established. In popular culture, Lucille Mulhall was declared the "first cowgirl" by President Roosevelt. Annie Oakley and Calamity Jane also lay famous claim to the name cowgirl. Ironically, no women, or cowgirls, are listed as notable alumni on NMHU's Wikipedia page. However, politician Rebecca Vigil-Giron earned her undergraduate degree at New Mexico Highlands before going on to Harvard. Additionally, Ann Nolan Clark was a native of Las Vegas, N.M., attended NMHU and went on to win the 1953 Newberry Medal for her writing.
 
JOHN A. WILSON COMPLEX
Serving as the home of NMHU volleyball and basketball, the John A. Wilson Complex boasts seating for 4,250 fans while also housing the student weightroom, wellness center and recreational activities area. While there is also a John A. Wilson District Building in Washington, D.C., the two are not known to be associated. Those associated with NMHU also refer to their arena as just the Wilson Complex.
 
SCOUTING CSU-PUEBLO
Colorado State University at Pueblo opens its weekend with a match at home against UCCS. At 4-14 overall and 2-7 in the RMAC, the ThunderWolves have been swept in three of their last four matches. CSUP's two RMAC wins came against South Dakota Mines and Western State. Brooke Schilling leads the offense with 183 kills. Grace Hern leads all setters with 390 assists and Page Heller anchors the defense with 328 digs. Berkley Hays is the ThunderWolves top blocker with 35 stuffs on the year.
 
WHAT'S A THUNDERWOLF?
Colorado State University-Pueblo was previously known as the University of Southern Colorado with Indians as the nickname of its athletics teams. However according to CSU-Pueblo's athletics website, "The University of Southern Colorado (now Colorado State University-Pueblo) adopted the "ThunderWolf" as its mascot prior to the 1995-96 academic school year. The ThunderWolf came to life as USC looked to modernize its image following over 60 years of being known as the "Indians." The term Thunder Wolf (Thunderwolf/Thunderwolves) is part of a number of pop-culture references, but is not actually part of the existing animal kingdom. In the context of CSUP, the thunderwolf is a mythical creature intertwined in legend with colors reflecting Colorado's diverse geography.
 
MASSARI ARENA
The home of CSU-Pueblo's volleyball, basketball and wrestling teams re-opened in 2008 following a two-year, $12 million renovation. Seating 3,900 fans, the arena features one section of premium chairback seating and a luxury box overlooking the arena dubbed "The Wolf Pack Room." The original arena was constructed in 1971 and boasts the RMAC attendance records for men's basketball and wrestling. Massari Arena has also played host to multiple NCAA Regional Basketball Tournaments and two NCAA Division II Wrestling National Championships.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Mines has faced NMHU once a year, every year since 2012 and is 6-0 against the Cowgirls during that time. The Orediggers have a similar history against the ThunderWolves. Despite trailing the all-time series with CSU-Pueblo 26-34, Mines is 8-0 against CSUP since 2012 – including a 3-0 mark in 2015.
 
RMAC SETTER OF THE WEEK
Drew Stokes was named the RMAC Setter of the Week Monday, her third straight award of the season. The distinction was fueled by 63 assists against Dixie State and 87 total assists for the week. Stokes' performance against DSU tied for eighth on Mines' single-match assists list. The true freshman from Illinois now ranks first in the RMAC and #14 in the nation in assists per set. She is also #17 in DII in total assists.
 
NOBODY LIKES YOU WHEN YOU'RE 23
The Orediggers took Blink-182's lyrics to heart and rose from #23 to #22 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division II National Poll. Mines is now the only nationally-ranked team in the RMAC. Regis fell from #23 into the receiving votes category. South Central Region foes Tarleton State (#17) and Texas A&M-Commerce (#21) also made appearances in the DII rankings.
 
GOING FOR DOUBLE DIGITS
Mines currently boasts a nine-match winning streak which is the seventh-longest, active streak in DII. The Orediggers have not lost a match since Sept. 1 in Indianapolis. The run of wins includes five sweeps and a trio of five-set thrillers.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The Orediggers return home Oct. 12-13 to face Colorado Christian and Regis inside Lockridge Arena. 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.