Mines (23-5) vs. MSU Denver (21-9) – Thursday, 7:30 p.m. CT [Live Stats] [Live Video] [Bracket]
NCAA Tournament Second Round – Friday, 7:30 p.m. CT [Tournament Central]
NCAA Regional Final – Saturday, 4 p.m. CT [Tournament Central]
 

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THE 2018 NCAA DIVISION II VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT
The Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team opens its 10th straight NCAA Tournament Thursday as the #4 seed taking on fifth-seeded MSU Denver in Stephenville, Texas. It marks a rematch of the 2018 RMAC Tournament semifinal where MSU Denver knocked the Orediggers out in five sets. Mines (23-5) will look to take an advantage in the 2018 series and knocked the Roadrunners out of the tournament after defeating MSU Denver in the regular season in four sets. The rest of the bracket features top-seeded Tarleton State hosting #8 Arkansas-Fort Smith. Texas A&M-Commerce owns the #2 seed and faces #7 Angelo State. Rounding out the South Central Region's top eight are third-seeded Colorado Mesa taking on #6 Dixie State in another RMAC Tournament semifinal rematch.
 
RMAC TOURNAMENT IN REVIEW
Mines made its 11th consecutive RMAC Tournament appearance and advance all the way to the semifinals. The Orediggers opened the quarterfinals with a four-set win over Fort Lewis inside Lockridge Arena. As the #1 seed and regular-season co-champions, Mines hosted the semifinal and finals rounds as well. The Orediggers hosted MSU Denver and took an early 2-0 lead before dropping a marathon third set, 31-33. The Roadrunners claimed the last two sets for the upset victory before being swept in the finals by Colorado Mesa. Janice Jin earned RMAC All-Tournament honors after 10 kills against Fort Lewis and 16 against MSU Denver.
 
SCOUTING MSU DENVER
At 21-9 overall, MSU Denver was the #4 seed in the RMAC Tournament and jumped from #8 to #5 in the NCAA Regional Rankings thanks to its trip to the RMAC Tournament finals. The Roadrunners effectively eliminated Regis from NCAA Tournament play after defeating the Rangers in their RMAC Tournament semifinal. Taylor Duryea and Santaisha Sturges lead MSU Denver's offense with a combined 691 kills. The Roadrunners boast a two-setter system led by Jessa Megenhardt and Morgan Weatherwax who have 549 and 365 assists, respectively. Lyric Hebert anchors the defense with 442 digs while Alyssa Kelling boasts 111 blocks on the year.
 
FUN ROADRUNNER FACTS
In the regular-season matchup between Mines and MSU Denver, fans learned that roadrunners are slender, fast-running birds of the cuckoo family. It was also noted that the institution has gone through a number of name changes. For the postseason, we present potentially fun and interesting facts about roadrunners. Despite Looney Toons depicting a roadrunner outracing a coyote, the bird's top speed is only 20 miles per hour while coyotes max out over 40 miles per hour. Roadrunners are also known as chaparral cocks and snake killers. The later name comes from the bird's preference for rattlesnake meat as a snack. Typically, roadrunners team up to best the feared viper by distracting then pinning its head on a rock and stabbing it with its bill. Apologies for the graphic nature of these fun facts. Finally, fans might be interested to know that roadrunners never need to drink water. The desert bird is so adapted to its arid environment that it has no need to sip water. Roadrunners get all the moisture they need from their diet. And now you know.
 
WISDOM GYMNASIUM
The 2018 NCAA South Central Regional Volleyball Tournament will be hosted by Tarleton State inside the TexAnns' home, Wisdom Gymnasium. Located in the Kinesiology Building on the northwest corner of the campus, it's named for longtime Tarleton athletics director and coach W.J. Wisdom. It was built in 1970 at a cost of $1.30 million. The entire complex covers 114,343 square feet of floor space. The court is a hardwood surface with seating for about 350 on tractable bleachers. An additional 330 can be seated in a loft on the north side. Because of the seating location, fans have an excellent vantage point for all matches. The floor was resurfaced and painted in 2017, removing several lines to emphasize the main volleyball court.
 
STEPHENVILLE, TEXAS
Tarleton State University is located in Stephenville, Texas, which 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."
 
SERIES HISTORY
With Jamie Magalei as head coach at Mines, the Orediggers are 10-14 in the all-time series against MSU Denver. Mines is 2-3 over its last five matches with the Roadrunners, including two showdowns in the RMAC Tournament finals. The Orediggers defeated MSU Denver in four sets in 2016 for the tournament crown, but have now been eliminated from RMAC Tournament play by MSUD in back-to-back years.
 
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Since taking over as head coach and assistant in 2008, Jamie Magalei and Heather Roberts have guided Mines to 10 straight NCAA Tournaments (2009-present). Magalei got her first NCAA Tournament victory in 2011 with a five-set win over Nebraska-Kearney. Overall, the Orediggers are 6-10 in 15 NCAA Tournament matches. Mines has been most successful in three-set matches with a NCAA Tournament record of 3-2 in sweep situations. The Orediggers are 2-4 in four-set affairs and 1-4 in five-set thrillers. Mines' most recent NCAA Tournament victory came last season in a 3-1 win over Angelo State in the first round at Regis.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Three Orediggers have combined to produce 13 double-doubles this season. A pair of true freshman lead the way with Amanda Donais and Drew Stokes boasting six double-doubles each. Stokes posted Mines' most recent double-double with 46 assists and 11 digs against MSU Denver in the RMAC Tournament semifinal. Donais' last double-double was Oct. 13 against Regis with 11 kills and 13 digs. Abby Tiesman also has one double-double on the season with her 13-kill, 12-dig performance against Cal St. East Bay in the 2018 Oredigger Volleyball Classic.
 
RMAC SETTER & FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
True freshman Drew Stokes was named the 2018 RMAC Setter of the Year and 2018 RMAC Freshman of the Year earlier this season. Stokes earned the honors after leading the RMAC in assists per set. She is now #1 in the conference in total assists as well. Nationally, Stokes is #12 in NCAA Division II in assists per set and #21 in total assists. The Illinois native currently sits #6 on Mines' single-season list. She has already passed Danielle Johnson-Hazlewood's freshman performance and sits just 19 assists away from surpassing Johnson-Hazlewood's junior numbers. Johnson-Hazlewood was a three-time all-American for the Oreddiggers and holds Mines' all-time assists record as well as the #1 and #2 spots on the single-season chart. In her freshman campaign, Stokes also boasts 79 kills while hitting .404 with 18 service aces, 178 digs and 42 total blocks.
 
2018 ALL-RMAC TEAMS
The Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team placed six Orediggers on the 2018 All-RMAC squads. As previously mentioned, Drew Stokes took home RMAC Setter and Freshman of the Year honors on her way to first-team distinction. Joining Stokes on the first team were Lindsey Jin and Abby Tiesman. Amanda Donais was named Second-Team All-RMAC while Taylor Hicken and Elle Duis claimed Honorable Mention All-RMAC distinction. Four of Mines' six honorees were true freshman on a squad that features nine freshman out of 15 total members.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
If Mines wins, it will face the winner of #1 Tarleton State vs. #8 Arkansas-Fort Smith Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the second round of the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament. Live stats and video of the match 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.