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GAME DAY INFO
New in 2019, fans can purchase digital tickets online in advance via Mines' new ticketing portal, or buy them at the gate on game day. Ticket pricing remains the same as 2018 at $10 for adults and $5 for seniors, military, and children. Mines students, faculty, and staff are free with their Blaster Card. No pets (except service animals) are permitted inside Lockridge Arena.
 
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".
 
THE NEXT SEVEN DAYS
Over the next week, the Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team will be playing three matches in what is actually a five-day span. The hectic stretch begins Thursday as the Orediggers hop on a bus and travel more than 300 miles to Durango, Colo., to face Fort Lewis on Friday at 7 p.m. Mines then heads 150 miles back towards Alamosa, Colo., for a Saturday match at Adams State – also at 7 p.m. More than 200 miles back to Golden provide the squad a two-day break before hosting UCCS on Tuesday at 7 p.m. inside Lockridge Arena. All three are RMAC contests which makes the trio of showdowns as critical as any stretch this season if the Orediggers hope to claim another conference title.
 
LOOKING BACK
Mines opened RMAC play last weekend with home matches against Colorado Christian Friday and Regis on Saturday. The Orediggers started strong and undefeated by sweeping CCU for the first time since 2015. Abby Tiesman knocked down 10 kills. Elle Duis racked up nine digs, but the story of the night was arguably Drew Stokes' nine total blocks with Mines putting up 13 blocks as a team. Stokes also added 27 assists, six digs and two kills. Saturday went the opposite way of Friday with the Orediggers falling to then #18-ranked Regis in three sets. The loss came despite Tiesman leading all players with 12 kills. Elle Duis also had 18 digs but neither were enough to knock off the Rangers. Regis's victory moved RU up to #12 in the rankings while Mines came into the top 25 in a tie for #25.
 
SCOUTING FORT LEWIS
Fort Lewis enters the weekend 4-7 overall and 0-2 in RMAC action, playing at home for the first time in nearly two weeks. In their most recent action, the Skyhawks were swept by MSU Denver and Chadron State for a winless start to conference play. The team's wins came early in the season over Southeastern Oklahoma, Northwestern Oklahoma, Western New Mexico and Texas A&M-International. Bailey Longacre is FLC's leading hitter thanks to 89 kills at a clip of .275 on 222 attempts. The Skyhawks have switched between a one-setter and two-setter system, but overall its Payton Harmann coordinating the offense to the tune of 182 assists at 8.27 assists per set. Defensively, Kamryn Lopez seems to be the backrow anchor with 137 digs on the year. At the net, its Tye Wedhorn and Longacre boasting 18 total blocks and 17 total blocks, respectively. Second-year head coach Tricia Melfy is Fort Lewis's lady at the helm. Her record at FLC is 13-21 after leading the Skyhawks to the 2018 RMAC Tournament in her first season with the program.
 
WHAT'S A SKYHAWK
It is a question that has been asked and answered before, and it is one that probably should be answered again. Fort Lewis's nickname is the Skyhawks. Folks who are not in the know would simply respond that a Skyhawk is a bird, and those folks would be half right. In fact, it would seem there is no real animal that bears the name Skyhawk, but there are a whole lot of airplanes under the same moniker. So yes, it's a bird, but not a real bird. Some reading this may be familiar with the Cessna 172 Skyhawk which is a single-engine four-set light airplane. Or the ground-attack jet known as the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Real aircraft nerds may even know about the Seibel S-4, a helicopter evaluated by the United States Army under the designation YH-24 Sky Hawk. Those who know very little about aircraft (like the author) may have also heard of or even ridden in a Buick Skyhawk between the years of 1975-1989 or a Studebaker Sky Hawk in 1956. However, to this writer's knowledge, nobody can say they've ever seen a winged, feathered Skyhawk soaring through the skies. And now you know.
 
WHALEN GYMNASIUM
Whalen gymnasium is the home for FLC's volleyball and basketball programs. Boasting a capacity of 2,750, Saturday provides promise for a much larger crowd. The facility is named after Fort Lewis College Hall-of-Famer Dr. Donald F. Whalen. The late doctor began a 29-year career in Durango as a physical educator, head basketball coach and assistant football coach. He eventually became the Director of Athletics and served many other rolls. In regards to his namesake, the gym was formerly known as Fort Lewis Fieldhouse before its dedication in 2003. In late 2017, FLC brought a 57.5-million dollar proposal to expand the facility. That proposal was tabled by the state.
 
SCOUTING ADAMS STATE
Adams State is slated to host UCCS on Friday before welcoming Mines to town on Saturday. The Grizzlies enter the two matches 3-8 overall and 0-2 in RMAC play. Similar to Fort Lewis, the Grizzlies opened conference action last weekend and feel to Chadron State and MSU Denver in a pair of four-set matches. Adams State's three wins on the year came against Texas A&M-International, Western New Mexico and Findlay. The Grizzlies have lost to the likes of Nebraska-Kearney, Augustana and Angelo State. Hannah Goddard serves as the cornerstone of ASU's offense, touting 106 kills on a staggering 326 attempts. Bailey Schlosser leads the team with 216 assists while Goddard and Mackenzie Swanson both have over 100 digs on the season. Also of note, Adams State's block should not be taken lightly. Shannon Mulkey, Riley Ogelvie and Grecia Martinez have combined for a total of 84 blocks. Lindy Mortensen is the head coach for ASU. Her overall collegiate coaching record is 199-202 and she led the Grizzlies to the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
 
URSUS ARCTOS HORRIBILIS
Yeah, say that five times fast with your mouth full of cheese puffs. If you chose to read this section instead of skipping over that combination of letters, we salute you. The Ursus Arctos Horribilis is how scientists chose to say Grizzly bear, or Grizzlies, which is also the nickname for Adams State Athletics. Those who kept up with the team last year know that the appropriate term is North American brown bear, but enough with the semantics. Did you know that North American brown bears are officially considered a threatened species? At one point, approximately 50,000 grizzled bears roamed North America, but that number has since dropped to about 1,800 bears in the lower 48 states. The creature can weigh up to 800 pounds, nearly half a ton and actually varies in color from light cream to brown or black. The distinguishing feature of the North American brown bear is a hump on its back which is a mass of muscles used for digging. These are solitary creatures that live for about 30 years in the wild and 40 years in captivity. Females cannot reproduce until they are four or five years old. The gestation period is 180-270 days and interestingly enough, female bears can give birth to cubs while sleeping. So there's that. We could go on, but those seem like enough interesting facts for today.
 
PLACHY HALL GYM
The Adams State Volleyball team plays its home games inside Plachy Hall Gym. The facility also contains a pool and weight room. With a listed capacity around 500 (Wikipedia) it is one of the smaller gyms in the RMAC. Seating type is noted as "bleachers" with "The Den" emblazoned on the wall. Otherwise, it's pretty much just a normal gym. For those who are into GPS and geocaching, the coordinates are 37.476173 degrees north and 105.880991 degrees west.
 
SCOUTING UCCS
The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs rolls into the second weekend of conference play with an overall record of 3-7 while sitting 1-1 in the RMAC. UCCS will face Adams State and Fort Lewis on the road on Friday and Saturday before traveling to Golden on Tuesday. The Mountain Lions trio of wins are courtesy of Fresno Pacific at the Oredigger Volleyball Classic, Minot State at the Mountain Lion Invitational and Colorado Christian in five sets last weekend. It should also be noted that UCCS took #18-ranked Regis to five sets as well, but lost. Taylor Smith has registered 97 kills at a clip of .194 as the Mountain Lions' top hitter. Emily Ettel's 332 assists lead all players, and Jordyn Kinsey holds it down in the back row thanks to 159 digs. Lauren Brown and Josie Russell anchor the block, touting 28 and 23 total blocks, respectively. Chrissy Elder enters her seventh season as head coach for UCCS. Her resume is highlighted by six consecutive RMAC Tournament appearances.
 
WORTH ONE DOLLAR
Last season, a number of facts were provided regarding UCCS's Mountain Lions nickname. While there may be a return to the standard nickname dissection, there is a wealth of interesting tidbits surrounding the institution's campus. The campus was originally Cragmor Sanatorium, essentially a rehab facility/hospital, opened in 1905 and nicknamed "Sun Palace". The health spa's white-collar clientele led to its demise during The Great Depression. Despite efforts to revive the Sanatorium, it was eventually sold to the State of Colorado for one dollar in 1964 and became property of the University of Colorado. Thus, UCCS was born – for the price of a candy bar.
 
LOCKRIDGE ARENA
Fondly referred to as "The Lock", Mines' home court for volleyball, men's basketball and women's basketball features seating for 3,000 at Oredigger home athletics events. The venue has also twice hosted the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball South Central Regional Tournament. Additionally, Lockridge Arena hosts numerous major campus events and has been graced by the presence of Barack Obama, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye and many others.
 
FACULTY AND STAFF APPRECIATION
Tuesday's match against UCCS is the volleyball team's Faculty and Staff Appreciation night. Make sure to join the Orediggers as they honor the fine educators who are molding minds and shaping futures here at Mines. There will be an on-court recognition and all faculty and staff are invited to attend and help cheer the Orediggers to victory.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Last season, the Orediggers posted a combined record of 3-0 against Fort Lewis and Adams State. Abby Tiesman racked up 50 kills and hit .463 in that trio of wins. Additionally, Drew Stokes totaled 143 assists at a clip of 14.30 assists per set. Elle Duis got in on the action with 46 digs in 10 sets. Let's not forget 32 total blocks between Taylor Hicken, Lindsey Jin, Tiesman and Stokes. Since 2008, Mines is 16-0 in matches against Fort Lewis thanks to a 2-0 mark last season. One of those wins ended the Skyhawks' RMAC Tournament run in the quarterfinals inside Lockridge Arena. Additionally, the Orediggers have only dropped one set to the Skyhawks since 2009. That's one set over a decade of rivalry. Mines' winning streak against Adams State dates back to 2014 and features nine consecutive wins with five sweeps and two five-set thrillers. The Orediggers' last loss to the Grizzlies was a four-set defeat on Nov. 22, 2013 in Golden.
 
RMAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Three weeks into the 2019 season, the conference office has granted Mines three of its weekly awards. Included in that are a pair of Setter of the Week honors for Drew Stokes and one Offensive Player of the Week honor for Abby Tiesman. In summary, the Orediggers have accounted for one third of the available weekly awards. That's 33% going to Stokes and Tiesman despite not claiming any accolades this past week. Not too shabby for a team sitting in a tied for #7 in the league standings.
 
CONFERENCE STANDINGS
Speaking of Mines' conference ranking, here is the league rundown after one weekend of play. According to the RMAC's website, Regis is #1 thanks to an unblemished mark of 3-0 in conference play. Chadron State, Dixie State and MSU Denver are all tied for #2 at 2-0. Colorado Mesa and Western are 2-1 in a tie for #5. The Orediggers find themselves in a five-way tie for #7 at 1-1 which muddies the waters on projecting an early RMAC Tournament field. Fort Lewis, Adams State, Westminster, New Mexico Highlands and Colorado Christian all have yet to win a match in league play.
 
TOPS IN THE NATION
We'll keep this brief. Mines continues to lead the nation in assists per set and ranks #2 in kills per set. The Orediggers also rank #21 in hitting percentage. Drew Stokes is still #1 in the nation in assists per set and also ranks #24 in total assists. Abby Tiesman is #9 in all the land thanks to 5.08 points per set and also sits #18 in hitting percentage. That's all for now.
 
FUN COACH FACTS
This section is a new addition to the weekly previews and is an effort to bring other interesting information to light while also seeing which readers make it to the very end. Each week, readers can find a fun fact about either head coach Jamie Magalei or assistant coach Heather Roberts. Last week, Coach Magalei was featured. This week we shift the spotlight to Coach Roberts. A four-year player at William Woods in Fulton, Mo., Roberts earned two All-American Midwest Conference honors and Academic All-AMC accolades. But did you know that, to this day, Coach Roberts ranks #1 and #2 in program history for assists per set in a single season. Yes indeed, Roberts broke the program record as a sophomore in 2002, tossing up 10.85 assists per set. Then, she broke her own record in 2003 by way of 11.78 assists per set as a junior. Roberts' name is listed eight different times in William Woods' record book and we look forward to revealing even more of these fun coach facts throughout the season.
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Mines returned to the national rankings this week in a tie for #25 in the AVCA Division II Coaches Top 25 Poll. It marks the Orediggers' first national ranking since boasting a spot of #21 on Oct. 8 of last season. It's also the 90th time in program history that Mines has appeared in the national polls. The distinction comes after Mines opened conference play with a sweep of CCU and a loss to then #18-ranked Regis. Other notable teams in the top 25 include Regis which moved from #18 to #12 after a pair of victories to start RMAC play. South Central Region foes Tarleton State (#10) and Texas A&M-Commerce (#20) also remain nestled comfortably on the national list. Additionally, Angelo State comes in the equivalent of #27 with 69 votes and MSU Denver sits #35 thanks to 36 votes.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Following three matches over the next seven days, Mines stays at home to host Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines Oct. 4-5. Live stats and video will be available at MinesAthletics.com.