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2019 OREDIGGER VOLLEYBALL CLASSIC
For a sixth consecutive year, the Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team will open its season with the Oredigger Volleyball Classic. The 2019 edition features eight teams and 16 matches on two courts over two days, starting Friday morning at 11 a.m. Mines enters the weekend looking to defend its 2018 RMAC Regular Season Championship as the Orediggers start their bid for an 11th straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.
 
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 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".
 
RETRO REFRESHER
In 2018, the Orediggers posted an overall record of 24-6 with a mark of 16-2 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC). Those numbers were good enough for a share of the RMAC's regular-season crown and the #1 overall seed in the conference tournament as the Orediggers went on to make their 10th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament before falling the second round. Individually, Drew Stokes was named AVCA National Freshman of the Year and Third-Team All-America among numerous awards. Abby Tiesman was also named AVCA Honorable Mention All-America while Lindsey Jin, Amanda Donais, Taylor Hicken and Elle Duis joined Stokes and Tiesman as All-RMAC honorees.
 
MEET THE 2019 OREDIGGERS
Mines returns 13 of 15 letter winners for the 2019 campaign while adding four new faces. Among the returners are Abby Tiesman and Drew Stokes who were tabbed as players to watch in the RMAC. Additionally, the corps of returners is made up of seven additional sophomores (Stokes) including Danielle Mullen, Cora McCanlies, Elle Duis, Amanda Donais, Julia Eiken, Megan Neil and Taylor Hicken. April Jergensen and Lindsey Jin make up the junior class while Courtney Richardson and Delaney Duis join Tiesman to form a senior trio. The freshman quartet includes Gabby Castronova, Rose Stuewe, Madison Schoeder and Audrey Richard.
 
CLASSIC CONTENDERS
The 2019 Oredigger Volleyball Classic features eight teams including the Orediggers. Among the opposition, in alphabetical order, are Alaska Fairbanks, Colorado Mesa, Dallas Baptist, Fresno Pacific, Lubbock Christian, #8 Northern State and UCCS. Mines will face off against Dallas Baptist, Lubbock Christian, Alaska Fairbanks and Northern State. In total, the seven programs traveling to Golden boast a combined 2018 record of 116-90 while going 75-47 in their respective conferences. Additionally, the field features three conference champions in Northern State, Lubbock Christian and Colorado Mesa (tournament) with two NCAA Tournament teams in Northern State and Colorado Mesa. The conferences represented inside Lockridge Arena this weekend include the GNAC, RMAC, Lone Star, PacWest and NSIC.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
As previously mentioned, Mines' four opponents for the weekend are Dallas Baptist, Lubbock Christian, Alaska Fairbanks and #8-ranked Northern State. The Orediggers open up against DBU which went 12-17 (5-7 Heartland) in 2018 while finishing #5 out of seven in the conference standings. The Patriots are now part of the Lone Star Conference as part of the merger between the Heartland and the LSC bringing the new-look Lone Star to 19 teams. Mines' second opponent is Lubbock Christian which also experienced the same conference transition as DBU. The Lady Chaps went 21-9 (10-2 Heartland) on their way to Heartland's final regular-season title. However, LCU did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament as it bowed out in the first round of the conference tournament. Next up for the Orediggers will be Alaska Fairbanks out of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC). The Nanooks were 14-13 (12-8 GNAC) in 2018 while finishing #4 out of 11 in the conference standings. Mines' toughest opponent of the weekend will be its last in #8 Northern State. The Wolves are the only nationally-ranked opponent in the field after going 26-5 (17-3 NSIC) in 2018 on their way to a share of the NSIC regular-season title. Northern State went on to the NCAA Tournament where it fell to Washburn in the first round.
 
THE OPPOSITION CONT.
Now that fans know a little about the teams Mines will be facing, it's time to provide a little context. For example, the last time the Orediggers faced off against Dallas Baptist was Sept. 2 on day one of the 2016 Oredigger Volleyball Classic. Mines won the contest 3-0 as Alanna Winfield racked up 19 kills thanks to 39 assists from current senior Delaney Duis. The Orediggers were ranked #25 at the time and improved to 2-0 with the win and eventually advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Mines has never faced Lubbock Christian with both teams playing as NCAA Division II members. LCU only recently transferred to DII putting any previous matchup back in both program's NAIA days. That being said, we'll put the all-time series mark at 0-0 between the Orediggers and Lady Chaps. Additionally, Saturday will mark the first time coach Magalei has ever faced off against Alaska Fairbanks, providing a second opportunity to start an all-time series 1-0. Finally comes #8 Northern State, the last team to deal Mines a loss in the Oredigger Volleyball Classic. The two teams last met on Sept. 2, 2017 and the Wolves took the match 3-1. In the loss, Abby Tiesman led the way with 17 kills and three blocks. First-team All-American Marina Hansen was on point with 51 assists. Saturday affords Mines the chance to avenge that loss and even the record between the two teams in the Oredigger Volleyball Classic.
 
OREDIGGER CLASSIC HISTORY
For those who read the first section and have made it all the way to this portion, congratulations. If you recall, the 2019 Oredigger Volleyball Classic marks the sixth straight year Mines has opened its season hosting a tournament. However, "The Classic" boasts a much longer and deeper history than just half a decade. In fact, the 2019 season will mark the 15th edition of the event with records showing the first volleyball classic being held in 2005. Since the tournament's inception, Mines boasts a record of 45-12 while winning 146 sets compared to just 60 sets lost. In 2008, head coach Jamie Magalei took the reins of the program and made it the Orediggers' season opener every season since with the exception of 2013. With Magalei at the helm, Mines is 39-6 with a set record of 122-39. Furthermore, the Orediggers are 18-2 since 2014 with their only losses coming against Augustana (S.D.) and Northern State. In that same span (since 2014) Mines has swept 11 opponents with four wins coming in four sets and three, five-set thrillers. Overall, the Orediggers have played against 47 different opponents in their own tournament with just 11 repeats. There are only eight teams with a winning record against Mines in the Oredigger Volleyball classic including Wayne State (Neb.), Washburn, Southwest Minnesota State, Seattle University, MSU-Billings, Grand Canyon, Concordia-St. Paul and Northern State. The Orediggers have not dropped a match in their own tournament since 2017 when they dropped the weekend finale to then #24-ranked Northern State. We could keep going, but 254 words about the tournament's history seems sufficient.
 
MYRIAD OF MASCOTS/NICKNAMES
Just like last season, each preview will include a rundown of the opposition's mascot including history, fun facts and basic analysis of whether that mascot is appropriate for the institution. With seven teams coming to Golden, this week's overview will be somewhat brief as we try to touch 'em all. Alaska Fairbanks is the Nanooks. According to Wikipedia, a Nanook was the master of bears in the Inuit religion which seems appropriate enough for the state's flagship school. Colorado Mesa is the Mavericks. Defined as an unbranded calf or yearling, this familiar program's mascot raises questions as to the amount of ranching on Colorado's Western Slope as well as the accuracy of the mascot's image in the school's logo. We'll just leave it at that. Dallas Baptist is the Lady Patriots for the women and Patriots for the men. Based on Texas' overwhelming state pride and the role it played in many different conflicts and wars, we'll accept it. Fresno Pacific boasts Sunbirds as its mascot. While we can confirm that a Sunbird is a real bird (not like the Thunderwolf of CSU-Pueblo), the state of California is mentioned zero times in the species Wikipedia article which would infer there are, in fact, no Sunbirds, in the school's home state. Lubbock Christian is the Lady Chaps for the women and Chaps for the men, both short for Chaparrals. Based on the school's logo, LCU really meant to be the roadrunners since chaparral is actually vegetation consisting of tangled, thorny bushes. However, there are plenty of roadrunners in Texas and they are sometimes called chaparral birds, so we'll let it ride. Northern State is the Wolves. That's pretty self-explanatory and there are wolves in South Dakota. Good work Northern State. Last, but not least, are the Mountain Lions of UCCS. While unimaginative, the Mountain Lion, or cougar, or catamount is an acceptable mascot for the RMAC foe from Colorado Springs. And that's all we have to say about that.
 
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.
 
MINES UNDER MAGALEI
Jamie Magalei (formerly Skadeland) became the head volleyball coach at Colorado School of Mines in 2008. That makes the 2019 season her 12th campaign at the helm and 13th year overall after spending 2007 as an assistant coach. Under Magalei's guidance, the Orediggers have put together a decade of dominance including 256 wins and just 87 losses which make Magalei Mines' all-time winningest coach in every way. In fact, she is the only head coach in program history with a winning record. In addition to the overall mark of 256-87, the Orediggers have appeared in 10 straight NCAA Tournaments dating back to 2009 and won a combined total of eight RMAC titles between the regular-season and tournament crowns. Magalei's combination of regular-season and tournament titles actually has Mines riding a seven-year streak with at least some form of an RMAC championship. If there's any doubt as to Magalei's coaching acumen, it should be erased knowing that she ranks #17 in winning percentage among active DII coaches and also ranks #19 in all-time winning percentage in NCAA Division II with a career mark of .746.
 
SUPER SOPHOMORES
Fans already know that a majority of the roster is made up of sophomores. However, just how super are these sophomores? As true freshman, the group proved its worth by combining for over 660 kills, nearly 1,500 assists, exactly 92 aces, 1,225 digs and 174 total blocks. Taylor Hicken, Amanda Donais and Megan Neil all recorded triple-digit kills. Donais led the entire team with 38 aces. Elle Duis was the cornerstone on defense with a team best 525 digs at libero and Hicken's 72 blocks in the middle ranked second on the squad. There is no doubt this group of sophomores will be key to Mines' success in 2019.
 
GETTING INTERNATIONAL
This past May, Abby Tiesman represented the Orediggers in Brazil as part of the USA D-2 Volleyball Tour. Tiesman's selection to the elite squad came thanks to her AVCA Honorable Mention All-Region honor last fall. She is the only representative from the entire South Central Region. The USA D-2 Volleyball Teams invited NCAA Division II women's players from across the country and were comprised of players recognized as all-America, all-region and all-conference. Tiesman will played as part of the blue team which featured nine players representing six different colleges and universities from eight different home states. The Blue Team was coached by Jeremy White of Southeastern Louisiana University (formerly at Northwestern Oklahoma State).
 
PRESEASON POLLS
Mines was selected #1 in the preseason coaches' poll released by the conference last month. The defending regular-season champion Orediggers received nine of 16 first-place votes on the way to 214 points. Colorado Mesa came in at #2 with 209 points and four first-place votes. Dixie State, who shared in last year's regular-season title was voted #3 with 204 points and three first-place votes. Regis (184) rounded out the top four while MSU Denver (173), Colorado Christian (152), UCCS (142) and Fort Lewis (120) filled out the projected tournament field. Additionally, the Orediggers received 30 votes in the AVCA Division II National Poll which would rank #32 in the country. Colorado Mesa is the highest-ranked RMAC team at #27 with 58 votes. Dixie State also received three tallies in the national rankings.
 
RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll (first-place votes)

1. Colorado School of Mines: 214 (9)
2. Colorado Mesa: 209 (4)
3. Dixie State: 204 (3)
4. Regis: 184
5. MSU Denver: 173
6. Colorado Christian: 152
7. UCCS: 142
8. Fort Lewis: 120
9. Adams State: 99
10. Black Hills State: 88
11. CSU-Pueblo: 86
12. New Mexico Highlands: 71
13. Chadron State: 63
14. Westminster: 48
15. South Dakota School of Mines: 40
16. Western: 27

 
SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
Mines opens its 2019 slate with the traditional Oredigger Volleyball Classic featuring showdowns inside Lockridge Arena against Dallas Baptist, Lubbock Christian, Alaska Fairbanks and Northern State. The Orediggers' second tournament will be in Colorado Springs at UCCS before rolling into RMAC play. Those who follow RMAC volleyball know there are no off weekends in conference action. This remains true for the Orediggers who open the league slate Sept. 20-21 against ever-dangerous Colorado Christian and traditional powerhouse Regis. As the grind continues other key dates will include Oct. 12 at Dixie State, Oct. 25 at Regis, Nov. 2 hosting MSU Denver and also Nov. 8 at Colorado Mesa.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Mines next action will be Sept. 13-14 against Minot State, UAFS, Emporia State and Angelo State at the Mountain Lion Invitational hosted by UCCS in Colorado Springs. Live stats and video will be available at MinesAthletics.com.