Mines (19-6, 12-5 RMAC) at UCCS (10-15, 8-9 RMAC) – Friday, 7 p.m. – Colorado Springs, Colo. – [Live Stats] [Live Video]
 
ON THE RMAC NETWORK
Every Mines home game and all RMAC contests can be seen live and for free on the RMAC Network at minesathletics.com/tv. The RMAC Network can also be found on Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, and Android TV devices by going to the app store and searching "RMAC".
 
REGULAR-SEASON FINALE
This Friday marks the 2019 regular-season finale for the Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team as they head to Colorado Springs to face UCCS. While the Orediggers have already clinched a berth in the 2019 RMAC Tournament, Friday's match carries heavy seeding implications. Mines currently sits in a tie for fourth place and holds the head-to-head tiebreaker. Thus, a win clinches a top four seed and a home match in the tournament quarterfinals. However, a loss could put the Orediggers on the road for the entirety of the tournament.
 
LOOKING BACK
Mines came up with two big wins last weekend on the Western Slope. On Friday, the Orediggers defeated Colorado Mesa in a five-set thriller. Not only did it mark the Mavericks' first home loss in over a year, it also gave Mines the head-to-head tiebreaker for the #4 seed. Lindsey Jin led all players with 23 kills while hitting .404. She also added two service aces, two blocks and seven digs. Rose Stuewe chipped in 19 kills and Abby Tiesman added 12 as well with eight blocks. On Saturday, Mines finished the weekend sweep with a straight-sets win at Western Colorado. Once again, it was Jin leading the Orediggers on 12 kills and a .500 hitting percentage. However, Tiesman may have been more impressive as she knocked down 12 kills on 17 attempts with no errors for a .706 percentage.
 
SCOUTING UCCS
The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Volleyball team has put together an up-and-down season that has resulted in an overall record under .500 but still in contention for a spot in the RMAC Tournament. The Mountain Lions are currently ninth in the conference standings, but just one game away from a tie for the eighth, and final seed. That puts a lot of pressure on UCCS to come up with a big win over Mines on Friday. Individually, Grace Nelson leads the offense on 229 kills while hitting .305. Raelynn Edge and Emily Ettel share the setting duties with a combined 989 assists. Jordyn Kinsey holds it down in the back row to the tune of 401 digs. At the net, Lauren Brown touts 68 blocks.
 
THE PUMA CONCOLOR
Above is the scientific name for the cat known as mountain lion, or cougar. By now, fans should know that the mountain lion is the nickname for UCCS Athletics and also the animal with the most names in the entire world. But, did fans know all of this? Females weight 85-120 pounds while males check in at 120-180 pounds. If we're being honest, that's bigger than some of the guys playing on the pitch since cougars also measure seven to eight feet from nose to tail while standing two to three feet at the shoulder. Cougars can horizontally jump 40 feet while running, leap 15 feet up into a tree, climb a 12-foot fence and sprint up to 50 MPH. All of this really has the author thinking about a soccer match between cougars, but we digress. Interestingly, cougars were classified as a game animal in Montana in 1971 and can be hunted from September to April. As tempting as that sounds, this author will probably just stick to watching sports.
 
GALLOGLY EVENTS CENTER
Opened on Jan. 8, 2010, the Gallogly Events Center serves as the home for Mountain Lion basketball and volleyball. The arena seats 1,250 and features layout somewhat similar to Lockridge Arena with courtside seating rising to a concourse level. The facility was named after Tommy Gallogly who earned his degree from UCCS in 1970 and another degree in 1973. It is the first building on campus to be named after a UCCS alum.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Orediggers faced off against UCCS earlier this season and rolled to a 3-0 victory on Oct. 1 inside Lockridge Arena. In that match, Abby Tiesman dominated to the tune of 18 kills and a .452 hitting percentage. Megan Neil added 12 kills and Drew Stokes dished out 49 assists in just three sets. Defensively, Tiesman notched four blocks and Elle Duis was rock solid behind 23 digs in the back row. Mines has won 12 straight matches over UCCS dating back to 2012. That span includes four sweeps, seven four-set affairs and one five-set thriller. The Orediggers and Mountain Lions also faced off in last season's series finale. Mines won the match in four sets thanks to 18 kills and seven blocks from Taylor Hicken.
 
COSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
On Thursday, Lindsey Jin and Abby Tiesman were named CoSIDA Academic All-District. No other program had more honorees on the all-district squad. It marks Jin's first such honor and the second straight for Tiesman. The duo earned the recognition thanks to their performance on the court and in the classroom. To be considered for the CoSIDA Academic All-District teams, a student-athlete must carry a 3.3 or higher GPA as a sophomore or above and be a starter or significant contributor to their team. Both Jin and Tiesman now move on to the CoSIDA Academic All-America ballot.
 
RMAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Lindsey Jin was named the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after a huge weekend on the Western Slope. Jin finished the weekend with 35 kills while hitting .433 and notching four service aces. She racked up 23 kills at Colorado Mesa while dealing the Mavericks their first home loss since last season. Then, against Western Colorado, Jin went off for 12 more kills while hitting .500. It marks Jin's first weekly honor of the season and second of her career.
 
NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS
Mines moved up one spot to #3 in the latest edition of the NCAA Regional Rankings. In the South Central Region, the Orediggers only trail Regis and Angelo State. 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, Regis would be hosting the first and second rounds with Mines facing off against West Texas A&M. It should be noted that the Orediggers already defeated both Angelo State and UAFS earlier this season. The rest of the poll features Texas A&M-Commerce at #4, UAFS at #5, West Texas A&M at #6, Tarleton State at #7 and MSU Denver at #8. Dixie State and Colorado Mesa are currently on the outside looking in at #9 and #10.
 
FUN COACH FACTS
This section has focused a lot on the success and personal accomplishments of coaches Magalei and Roberts. However, fans might be aware of just how successful the duo was as student-athletes playing volleyball in college. For those just catching up, Magalei and Roberts played at the exact same time, from 2001-04. Magalei played at the University of North Dakota and Roberts played at William Woods in Missouri. Over that four year span, the teams Magalei and Roberts played on combined for 134 wins. Magalei's tenure at UND featured an overall mark of 72-58 while Roberts' teams went 62-70. However, if you remove one season from each person's record, the result is an overall mark of 117-88. And now you know.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
No matter what happens on Friday, Mines will be playing a quarterfinal match in the 2019 RMAC Tournament on Tuesday, Nov. 19. If the Orediggers win, they'll likely host Colorado Mesa inside Lockridge Arena. However, a loss leaves everything up to the other teams in the league. Live stats and video of any tournament 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.