#10 Mines (23-3, 16-2 RMAC) vs. (7) Western Colorado (13-13, 8-10 RMAC) – Tuesday, 7 p.m. – Lockridge Arena [Live Stats] [RMAC Network] [Bracket]
#10 Mines (24-3) vs. (3) Colorado Mesa (21-5) – Friday, 5 p.m. – Denver, Colo. (at MSU Denver) [Live Stats] [RMAC Network] [Bracket]
#10 Mines (25-3) vs. winner of #1 MSU Denver vs. (5) CSU Pueblo – Saturday, 6 p.m. – Denver, Colo. (at MSU Denver) [Live Stats] [RMAC Network] [Bracket]

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THE POSTSEASON BEGINS
After 26 matches and 23 wins in the regular season, the #10-ranked Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team is set to begin the fall 2021 postseason. It all starts on Tuesday night inside Lockridge Arena where the second-seeded Orediggers host the seventh-seeded Mountaineers of Western Colorado. Winners advance to the next round and losers go home to either start the offseason or await the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, Nov. 22, at 5:30 p.m.
 
FAN INFORMATION
Fans are reminded that there is no passlist for postseason play and tickets are needed for all spectators, with the exception of Mines students with their BlasterCard, who admission to Tuesday's quarterfinal is covered courtesy of Mines Student Life.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
All RMAC Tournament matches will be streamed live and for free on the RMAC Network.
 
THE BRACKET
The RMAC Volleyball Tournament features an eight-team bracket in a single-elimination format. Quarterfinal matches are played on the campuses of the top four seeds. The semifinals and final match are hosted by the highest remaining seed. Filling in the three remaining quarterfinal matches are top-seeded MSU Denver hosting eighth-seeded New Mexico Highlands, third-seeded Colorado Mesa hosting Colorado Christian as the sixth seed, and fourth-seeded Regis hosting fifth-seeded CSU Pueblo. Appropriate opponents and match times will be updated on this preview and the Mines volleyball schedule page at www.minesathletics.com. If the Orediggers win on Tuesday, they will face the winning of the CMU-CCU match.
 
REGULAR SEASON FINALES
Last weekend, Mines and the rest of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference closed out the regular season. The Orediggers capped their campaign with a pair of 3-0 wins at Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines. Taylor Hicken proved dominant as she racked up 26 kills in six sets while hitting .545. Also notable was Drew Stokes and her 14.00 assists per set along with eight service aces. Elle Duis put up 28 digs at a clip of 4.67 digs per set.
 
SCOUTING THE FIELD
The combined record of all eight teams in the field for the conference tournament is 141-68 overall. The postseason-bound group also produced a combined mark of 100-44 in RMAC play. Six of the eight teams boast a winning percentage of .500, or better. Colorado Christian and New Mexico Highlands are the only teams under .500 both in conference play and overall. Top-seeded MSU Denver is also #1 in the nation and the hottest team in all of NCAA Division II with a 22-match win streak. Mines is second-hottest in the RMAC thanks to six consecutive 3-0 wins. No other program has more than two straight victories coming into the postseason. Also notable is Western Colorado which is tumbling into the RMAC Tournament on a two-match losing streak. Against the field, the Orediggers boast a record of 6-2 including a 4-0 mark at home and a 2-2 record on the road. Five of Mines' six wins came in straight sets. Their only losses came at MSU Denver and Regis. Mines combined to hit .311 as a team in those eight matches while holding the opponents' combined attack percentage to .178.  We aren't really sure how else to briefly scout the field.
 
CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Mines Head Coach Jamie Magalei has been at the helm since 2008. Heather Roberts has been Magalei's assistant all 14 seasons. This week marks the duo's 14th consecutive appearance in the RMAC Tournament. Since the duo's arrival, Mines has won six RMAC titles in the regular season and four additional tournament crowns. In fact, the Orediggers have won the last two conference tournament championships after running through the brackets in 2019 and spring of 2021. Under Magalei and Roberts, Mines is 20-9 in the RMAC postseason. Since 2015, the Orediggers are 14-2 in the league tourney. Magalei and Roberts have guided Mines to one #6 seed, two #5 seeds, two #4 seeds, one #3 seed, four #2 seeds and four #1 seeds. The Orediggers won their first RMAC Tournament as a #1 seed in 2015. They won the RMAC Tournament last spring as the fourth seed. That run included back-to-back sweeps of Western Colorado and Colorado Mesa before toppling MSU Denver in four sets in Grand Junction.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
Mines held strong at #10 in this week's national poll put out by the American Volleyball Coaches' Association. However, as stated in previous articles, it's the NCAA Regional Rankings that determine who advances to the national postseason. The Orediggers held their spot at #2 in the latest regional rankings. MSU Denver stayed #1 while Angelo State, Regis, UT Tyler, Colorado Mesa, Lubbock Christian and West Texas A&M rounded out the top eight in order. If the season ended today, Mines would face Lubbock Christian at MSU Denver in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
#1 IN THE NATION
With the fall 2021 regular season in the books, Mines is still ranked #1 in the nation in hitting percentage with a team mark of .330 over the course of 26 matches. But that's not the Orediggers only top mark. Drew Stokes is #1 in the nation in assists per set. Additionally, Lindsey Jin's hitting percentage of .867 against Black Hills State also ranks #1 in the nation this season, as does the team's 65 kills against Lubbock Christian on Sept. 10. Also notable is the team ranking #2 in the nation in kills per set, #3 in assists per set and #8 in overall winning percentage while Taylor Hicken individually ranks #4 in the nation in hitting percentage. Think we said "in the nation" enough? Here's one more, Amanda Donais and Julia Eiken are also top-25 in the nation in hitting percentage.
 
FUN FACT OF THE WEEK
This fun fact is not going to play well with the superstitious crowd, so read at your own risk. In 2012, the Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team won its first-ever RMAC title. It came in the regular season thanks to a conference record of 17-2 while going 26-7 overall. The Orediggers have proceeded to win the RMAC regular season championship, tournament championship, or both every year since. That's night straight years of Mines volleyball wining some sort of conference championship. The Orediggers' only sweep of the crowns was in 2015 when they went 27-6 for the most wins in a season in program history. And now you know.
 
UP NEXT
If the Orediggers win on Tuesday, their next match will be on Friday with the opponent and match time to be determined. With a loss, Mines would await the NCAA Tournament Selection Show scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 22. All postseason updates and announcements will be available at www.minesathletics.com.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines volleyball on Twitter at @MinesVolleyball and on Instagram at @mines.volleyball. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.