Mines (0-0, 0-0 RMAC) vs. Fort Lewis (0-0, 0-0 RMAC) – Sunday, 2 p.m. – Denver, Colo. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
Mines (0-0, 0-0 RMAC) at MSU Denver (0-0, 0-0 RMAC) – Sunday, 5 p.m. – Denver, Colo. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
 

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VOLLEYBALL IS BACK
It has been 415 days since the Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team appeared in competition. That is one year, one month and 18 days since the Orediggers were on the court in the 2019 NCAA Sweet 16. The drought ends Sunday as Mines returns to competition with a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference pod hosted by MSU Denver. Fort Lewis joins the host to make up the Orediggers' two opponents for the day. After a record-setting season for Mines in 2019, all teams involved are simply eager to compete again.
 
NO SPECTATORS FOR MINES WINTER SPORTS
Due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Colorado, no spectators will be allowed inside the Auraria Event Center at MSU Denver for this Sunday's matches. Additionally, Colorado School of Mines' policy of not admitting spectators will continue for all winter sports – including volleyball – until further notice. Although Jefferson County was recently moved back to Level Orange by the state, facility capacity restrictions still make it impossible to welcome fans to campus at this time. Mines Athletics will continuously re-evaluate this policy as government guidance changes in the future.
 
FREE ON THE RMAC NETWORK
Fans and teams alike are certainly disappointed that no spectators are allowed to attend matches. However, everyone can keep up with each point live and for free on the RMAC Network at www.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". Additionally, live stats are available with links above and on the volleyball schedule page at www.minesathletics.com.
 
GROUND RULES
After the NCAA canceled all of its 2020 fall championships, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference presidents voted to postpone a majority of the fall seasons – including volleyball – until the spring. In the interim, conference and institutional personnel developed the rules and processes to return to play and the requirements to hold a RMAC Volleyball Tournament. All teams competing this spring will undergo weekly testing, and every person in the gym for a match will wear masks including the players on the floor. The schedule features 13 conference matches for each team. New Mexico Highlands has preemptively opted out of the season leaving 14 programs competing. In order to declare an RMAC champion and to hold a conference tournament, at least five teams must complete 50 percent of their originally approved schedule. Up to eight teams can qualify for the RMAC postseason. There is still no NCAA Volleyball postseason for the 2020-21 academic year.
 
59 WEEKS AGO
If you haven't realized by now, it's been a long time since Mines volleyball has taken the court in competition. The 2019 season was the Orediggers' last competitive run at any sort of championship. Coach Jamie Magalei and her squad finished that campaign 25-7 overall and 13-5 in RMAC play. Along the way, Mines took down #5 Regis and MSU Denver on their respective home courts to win the RMAC Tournament title. The Orediggers eventually made history as they advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in program history. Mines' final contest of the 2019 season was a fourth showdown with nationally-ranked and top-seeded Regis. The Orediggers were swept in the match despite seven kills from Lindsey Jin, 22 assists from Drew Stokes and 11 digs courtesy of Elle Duis. All three of those individuals return for the 2021 spring campaign. Mines wrapped up the 2019 slate ranked 20th in the nation along with a plethora of awards including RMAC Woman of the Year, two AVCA All-Americans, AVCA Regional Player of the Year and six All-RMAC selections.
 
MEET THE 2020-21 SQUAD
Mines graduated three individuals from its 2019 roster including Delaney Duis, Courtney Richardson and Abby Tiesman. Everyone else returned for the 2020 season and five true freshmen were added to the roster. The seniors on the roster are April Jergensen and Lindsey Jin. Both have been granted another year of eligibility for the coming fall. The decision to return will be up to them. Juniors make up a majority of the team with Danielle Mullen, Cora McCanlies, Elle Duis, Amanda Donais, Julia Eiken, Megan Neil, Drew Stokes and Taylor Hicken all enter their third season as Orediggers. The returning sophomores are Gabby Castronova, Rose Stuewe and Audrey Richard along with redshirt freshman Madison Schoeder. Newcomers Madison Glassco, Veronique Magnan, Chase Kluna, Shannon Perna and Madeleine Nightengale-Luhan make up the freshman class.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
After closing 2019 ranked 20^th in the nation, Mines entered the AVCA Division II Coaches' Top-25 Spring Preseason Poll at #19 as per the American Volleyball Coaches Association. It marks the Orediggers' highest preseason ranking since 2017 when they started the year in the same slot. Mines earned the ranking on the merits of a record-setting campaign in 2019 in which the Orediggers advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in program history. Other notable teams in the AVCA poll include Regis in fifth and MSU Denver receiving 12 votes. Angelo State and Texas A&M-Commerce also represent the South Central Region. Angelo State comes in 15th in the preseason despite two losses to the Orediggers in 2019. Texas A&M-Commerce appears right behind MSU Denver with nine votes.
 
RMAC PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
The Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team ranked third in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll released Tuesday morning by the conference office. The ballots from all 14 head coaches provided Mines 151 votes including three first-place votes. That total put the Orediggers behind just Regis and MSU Denver who tied for first place with 158 votes apiece. Regis, ranked fifth in the AVCA National Top-25, obtained six of the conference's first-place votes while MSU Denver, which received 12 votes in the national poll, grabbed five first-place votes in the RMAC ranking. Coaches could not vote for their own team.
 
RMAC Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll (first-place votes)
T1. MSU Denver – 158 (5)
T1. Regis – 158 (6)
3. Colorado School of Mines – 151 (3)
4. Colorado Mesa - 137
5. CSU Pueblo - 112
6. UCCS - 96
7. Black Hills State - 93
8. Colorado Christian - 87
9. South Dakota Mines - 73
10. Chadron State - 64
11. Fort Lewis - 47
12. Western Colorado - 44
13. Adams State - 40
14. Westminster - 14
 
PRESEASON PLAYERS TO WATCH
Elle Duis, Lindsey Jin and Drew Stokes were all tabbed as RMAC Preseason Players to Watch. Duis enters her junior season after earning Second-Team All-RMAC honors at libero in 2019. She also earned NCAA South Central Region All-Tournament distinction to cap off a season featuring 506 digs and 24 service aces. Jin starts her fourth you with the program as a three-time All-RMAC player for the Orediggers. As a junior, she knocked down 262 kills with 15 aces, 115 digs and 121 total blocks. She is Mines' most veteran hitter thanks to 89 matches and 324 sets of experience. She is 70 kills away from 1,000 for her career. Stokes is a junior as well after earning AVCA National Freshman of the Year in 2018 and AVCA First-Team All-America in 2019. As the starting setter for Mines, she boasts 2,731 assists in her career which ranks third on the program's all-time list.
 
SCOUTING FORT LEWIS
Fort Lewis enters the spring after a lackluster 10-17 (6-12 RMAC) campaign in 2019. The Skyhawks return just six veterans on a squad of 14 student-athletes. First-year skipper Giedre Tarnauskaite took over the team last February after stops at NCAA Division I Seattle University and the University of Montana. Outside hitter Alexa Treguboff serves as FLC's star to watch. She is the lone senior on the team and returns 152 kills and 271 digs. Additionally, Rylee Johnson brings back 94 kills and 35 total blocks from her true freshman campaign. Fort Lewis will run a two-setter system with Payton Harmann returning 699 assists from 2019. She will be complimented by junior transfer Makena Ahuna out of Hilo, Hawaii. Honestly, that's about all we know about that.
 
WHAT'S A SKYHAWK
This question has been asked and answered in these previews before. However, after such a long break, we wanted to get back to basics. Fort Lewis' nickname for its athletic teams 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.
 
SCOUTING MSU DENVER
Contrary to Fort Lewis, MSU Denver rolls into the season following yet another appearance in the NCAA Tournament. In fact, it was the program's 20th straight NCAA Tournament appearance. MSU Denver is one of just four DII programs to make the tournament all 20 years since 2000. The Roadrunners did fall in the first round, but managed to push Regis to five sets before bowing out. MSU Denver returns nine players and touts four newcomers. Kayla White and Jessa Megenhardt are the veterans to watch. White had 324 kills, 341 digs, 51 total blocks and 39 service aces in 2019. All of that made her Second-Team All-RMAC. Megenhardt played as one of two setters and tossed up 595 assists along with 174 digs and 52 service aces. That's pretty much all there is to say about that.
 
ROADRUNNER FACTS
Roadrunners, along with being MSU Denver's nickname, are members of the cuckoo family. They are found chiefly in arid country which fits the Denver climate. Despite being considered a bird, Roadrunners are unable to stay airborne for more than a few minutes due to their short wings. The bird can run up to about 17 miles per hour thanks to the unique x-shaped footprint they bear. Roadrunners also have the ability to lower their own body temperatures by going into torpor at nighttime. And now you know.
 
SERIES HISTORY – FORT LEWIS
Sunday marks the 68th meeting between Mines and Fort Lewis on the volleyball court. The Orediggers narrowly trail in the all-time series by a 33-35 margin. However, Mines boasts a 17-game win streak against the Skyhawks and hasn't lost to FLC since Sept. 29, 2007. Last season's lone matchup was in Durango and the Orediggers swept the home team in 68 minutes. Then senior Abby Tiesman led the charge with 12 kills and 10 digs while hitting .500 with four blocks. Taylor Hicken came up with 10 kills, and Drew Stokes dished out 41 assists in the three-set affair.
 
SERIES HISTORY – MSU DENVER
Mines and MSU Denver face off for the 82nd time on Sunday. It is the longest-standing rivalry in the history of Oredigger volleyball since the program started in 1976. The Roadrunners hold a heft advantage in the all-time series at 63-19, but Mines owns three straight wins including last year's RMAC Tournament Championship match. The Orediggers defeated MSU Denver on its home court in four sets to win the tournament crown for the third time in program history. Once again it was Tiesman leading the way on 22 kills, one block and nine digs. Both Amanda Donais and Rose Stuewe notched 13 kills apiece. Drew Stokes had 56 assists and Elle Duis racked up 33 digs. Mines is also 6-4 against the Roadrunners over the last 10 meetings.
 
UP NEXT
Mines' next match will be Saturday, Jan. 30 at 2 p.m. at Colorado Christian. It is anticipated that no spectators be allowed. As always, live stats and video will be available for free at www.minesathletics.com.