Fresh off a 4-0 start at the 2018 Oredigger Volleyball Classic, the #17-ranked Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team hits the road for the first time this season as it heads to Indianapolis for the two-day, eight-team UIndy Invitational. The tournament features 16 matches in two days with competition being held inside the Ruth Lilly Fitness Center and Nicoson Hall. The Orediggers face Harding and Winona State Friday and wrap up with Quincy and host UIndy Saturday.
 
LOOKING BACK
Head coach Jamie Magalei led the Orediggers through opening weekend with relative ease. Mines went undefeated (4-0) at the 2018 Oredigger Volleyball Classic as they swept Davenport and Lee while toppling Cal State East Bay in four sets and Sioux Falls in five sets. Abby Tiesman won tournament MVP honors while Lindsey Jin and Drew Stokes joined her on the all-tournament team. Mines led the tournament field in hitting percentage (.305), assists (214) and kills (227).
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
UIndy's eight-team tournament field boasts a combined record of 22-10. Mines' specific opponents carry an overall mark of 11-5. Harding (3-1) is the Orediggers opening draw hailing from the Great American Conference. The Bisons advanced to the GAC Conference Tournament Championship in 2017 before falling to #8-ranked Arkansas Tech. Winona State (1-3) will be the second North Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) team Mines faces this season (Sioux Falls).  The Warriors struggled on opening weekend against a tough field featuring then #21-ranked Ferris State. Quincy (4-0) hails from the Great Lakes Valley Conference and is the only undefeated team Mines will face this weekend. Host UIndy (3-1) also plays in the GLVC.
 
AVCA COACHES' POLL
The Orediggers jumped from #20 to #17 in week one of the American Volleyball Coaches Association DII National Poll. It marks Mines' 83rd straight week in the national rankings. Other programs of note on the AVCA's national list include RMAC foe Regis (10) and South Central Regional foe Tarleton State (18).
 
RMAC RUNDOWN
Mines was the only RMAC team to go undefeated on opening weekend. Regis, the favorite to win the conference, went 2-2 at a loaded West Florida Invitational. All four of the Rangers' opponents were nationally ranked. Newcomer Dixie State was the only other team to finish over .500 as the Trailblazers went 2-1 in a quadrangular in Nampa, Idaho.
 
NATIONAL STAT RANKINGS
Mines strong start to the season is reflected on the national stage as the Orediggers rank in the top 10 in multiple statistical categories. The squad is #7 in all of NCAA Division II in assists per set (14.27), kills per set (15.53) and total kills (227). Mines also sits #6 in the country in totals assists (214).
 
RMAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior middle blocker Abby Tiesman is off to an impressive start in 2018. She has earned Preseason All-RMAC honors, Oredigger Classic MVP distinction, Oredigger Classic All-Tournament and the first RMAC Offensive Player of the Week honors of the season – all in just one week. The Illinois native is #39 in the nation in hitting percentage (.417) and 27th in the country in total kills (55). She led all players at the Oredigger Classic in hitting percentage, racking up her 55 kills on 115 attempts. She also post career bests in single-match kills and blocks with 18 and eight against Sioux Falls.
 
FRESHMAN PHENOM
True freshman setter Drew Stokes opened her college career on fire. In four matches she racked up 189 assists with 100 of those coming on the first day of the season. Her 58-assist performance against Cal State East Bay was just three shy of cracking Mines' single-match top 10. Stokes currently ranks #2 in the nation in total assists and #7 in the nation in assists per set (12.60). Stokes also added 21 digs, 11 kills, three service aces and chipped in six blocks. Her all-tournament team nod could be just the beginning of a long list of accolades.
 
OUTSTANDING FRESHMAN CLASS
In addition to Stokes, five other freshman Orediggers debuted for Mines on opening weekend. Leading the way was Amanda Donais who is second on the team with 53 kills. Elle Duis showed out on defense as starting libero with 77 digs. Danielle Mullen, Megan Neil and Taylor Hicken also joined in the fun. In total, the six freshman tallied 120 kills and 180 digs. The Orediggers boast nine freshman on their 15-person squad.
 
NEW NAME, SAME COACH
The Orediggers' head coach enters her 11th season at the helm, but carries a new surname into the 2018 campaign. The former Jamie Skadeland is now Jamie Magalei (pronounced – mong-UH-lay) after marrying Issiah Magalei this summer. As Mines' head coach, Magalei holds a career record of 236-81 overall with a 148-36 mark in RMAC play. Under her direction, Mines has won five RMAC regular season championships, the program's first ever RMAC Tournament Championships (2015 and 2016) and advanced to nine straight NCAA tournaments.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Following the UIndy Invitational, Mines opens RMAC play at Regis Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at MinesAthletics.com.