#11 Mines (19-3, 12-2 RMAC) vs. Westminster (5-19, 3-11 RMAC) – Friday, 7 p.m. – Lockridge Arena [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
#11 Mines (19-3, 12-2 RMAC) vs. Colorado Mesa (17-4, 12-2 RMAC) – Saturday, 5 p.m. – Lockridge Arena [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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SENIOR, PARENT, ALUMNI WEEKEND
This Friday and Saturday, the #11-ranked Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team closes out its regular-season home schedule by hosting Westminster on Friday at 7 p.m. and Colorado Mesa on Saturday at 5 p.m. The match against the Griffins will also be Parents' Night sponsored by Pierogies Factory and The Mac & Cheezary. Mines will recognize its alumni and seniors thanks to sponsorship by Woody's Wood Fired Pizza during and after the showdown with CMU. Two wins would clinch a top-four seed in the RMAC Tournament and a first-round home match. Anything less puts the Orediggers in peril of being on the road for the conference quarterfinals.
 
FAN INFORMATION
Mines athletics continues to welcome fans back to home matches this fall. Masks are strongly encouraged for all guests at all on-campus events. Tickets for all matches are available at the box office (cash or credit) or online at www.minesathletics.com/tickets.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The RMAC Network has relaunched for 2021-22, and fans used to watching on their smart TV or other device must download the new app by searching "RMAC" in your device's app store. The new watch portal is available online at www.minesathletics.com/tv or www.rmacnetwork.com. All Mines home matches will stream live and for free on the RMAC Network this fall.
 
LAST WEEK REWIND
The Orediggers started their four-match home stand last Friday and Saturday with CSU Pueblo and UCCS inside Lockridge Arena. Mines swept both opponents in a combined match time of two hours. Rose Stuewe trumped the ThunderWolves on 14 kills which led all players. Drew Stokes stymied the Mountain Lions with 33 assists, two aces, two blocks, two digs and three kills. Taylor Hicken added four service aces against UCCS as well.
 
SCOUTING WESTMINSTER
Westminster starts the weekend in Golden before heading north and east to Chadron State. The Griffins are 5-19 overall having lost four of their last five matches. At 3-11 in the RMAC, Westminster is not mathematically eliminated from the RMAC Tournament, but it would have to win out to make the postseason. The three RMAC wins for WC all came at home against New Mexico Highlands, Black Hills State and Fort Lewis. Most recently, the Griffins fell in four sets to Western Colorado. Lydia Parkinson leads her team with 211 kills. Avery Alger is tops with a .289 hitting percentage which has resulted in 110 kills. She also boasts 49 blocks. Bri Mortensen handles most of the setting duties as evidenced by 549 assists. Also notable are Katie Jacox's 33 service aces.  As a team, WC hits .165 while the opposition converts at a clip of .247.
 
SCOUTING COLORADO MESA
Colorado Mesa plays the opposite schedule as Westminster. The Mavericks will play in Chadron on Friday before coming to Golden on Saturday. After starting the season 2-2 at Mines' own Oredigger Classic, CMU has dropped just two matches since. In fact, Mesa enters the weekend riding a nine-match win streak which includes four sweeps and two five-set thrillers. Colorado Mesa's last action was a four-set win against Western Colorado and a sweep of Fort Lewis. The Mavericks' win streak has them receiving votes in the national poll. They currently sit at the spot equivalent to #26 in the nation. On offense, Sydney Leffler is the hot hand, touting 248 kills and a .278 hitting percentage. Savannah Spitzer is also a Maverick to watch as she owns 138 kills on a .360 average on the attack. Sabrina VanDeList is CMU's setter who boasts 811 assists at 10.53 assists per set. She also touts 32 service aces. Kerstin Layman anchors the back row and has 343 digs in 77 sets. Also notable on defense is Tye Wedhorn and her 70 blocks in 70 sets. Colorado Mesa ranks #13 in the nation in hitting percentage and #15 in assists per set.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Mines is perfect in the all-time series against Westminster at 7-0. The Orediggers have only dropped five sets during the entire rivalry. Mines and WC last met earlier this season in Salt Lake City. The Orediggers won that match in four sets thanks to Elle Duis' 18 digs and Amanda Donais' 16 kills on .500 hitting. Mines trails the all-time series against Colorado Mesa by a 20-44-1 margin. However, the Orediggers are 6-4 over their last 10 meetings with the Mavericks. Their most recent meeting was last spring in the RMAC Tournament Semifinal match where Mines swept CMU in Grand Junction before winning the entire tournament. That postseason win provided redemption for the Orediggers who dropped a 3-0 decision to CMU earlier in the spring.
 
MAGALEI VS. THE OPPOSITION
Mines Head Coach Jamie Magalei took the helm of Oredigger volleyball in 2008. Mines didn't start playing Westminster in volleyball until 2015 which makes Magalei a perfect 7-0 against the Griffins in her career. When playing Colorado Mesa, Magalei has guided the Orediggers to 12 wins and six losses. That mark includes a four-match win streak from 2011-13. Overall, Magalei boasts a record of 19-6 versus this weekend's opponents.
 
AROUND THE RMAC
Two weeks remain in the regular season for all 15 RMAC volleyball programs. For most teams, that leaves four matches. MSU Denver has all but clinched the regular-season crown at 14-0 in the league. That is where things get messy. Mines, Colorado Mesa and Regis are all tied for #2 with a RMAC record of 12-2. CSU Pueblo is #5 at 10-4 and Western Colorado is #6 at 7-7. Currently, Colorado Christian and Fort Lewis own the last two slots in the conference tournament at 6-8. However, Adams State and New Mexico Highlands are right on the edge at 5-10. If the season ended today, MSU Denver, Mines, Mesa and Regis would be hosting some combination of CSU Pueblo Western Colorado, Colorado Christian and Fort Lewis. But all of that could change this weekend.
 
REGIONAL RANKINGS
While the AVCA DII Top 25 poll is fun to watch, it's the NCAA Regional Rankings that determine who advances to the national postseason. For those new to the game, NCAA Division II has eight regions. Regional Advisory Committees (RAC) rank the top-10 teams in each region. On Nov. 21, the top eight teams in each region advance to the NCAA Tournament. On Wednesday, the first edition of the NCAA Regional Rankings came out and Mines debuted at #2 in the South Central. MSU Denver owned the #1 spot. Angelo State slotted in after the Oredigers at #3 with Regis owning #4. The bottom half featured UT Tyler in fifth, Colorado Mesa in sixth, West Texas A&M at seventh and CSU Pueblo at eight. Lubbock Christian and Texas A&M-Commerce were the first two teams out at #9 and #10. The current list would pit Mines against West Texas A&M in the first round which would be hosted at MSU Denver. For those who still care, the Orediggers climbed one spot to #11 in the this week's national poll. For context, Angelo State is ranked #6 on the national list.
 
FUN FACT OF THE WEEK
Mines is still the #1 hitting team in all of NCAA Division II. That's the fun fact. But in all seriousness, the Orediggers have converted their attacks into kills at a clip of .325 for the season so far. The #2-ranked hitting team is West Florida which owns a mark of .304 on the year. Mines' efficiency on the attack has led to other stellar numbers as well. The Orediggers rank #5 in the nation in assists per set and in kills per set. Their team winning percentage of .864 also ranks #12 in the nation. Individually, Drew Stokes is #2 in DII in assists per set and #22 in total assists. Taylor Hicken ranks #3 in individual hitting percentage with Amanda Donais sitting #15. Also worth mentioning is the fact that Stokes leads all active players in all of NCAA Division II in career assists per set. Her 4,258 career assists ranks #4 among all active players.
 
UP NEXT
Mines closes the regular season next weekend at Black Hills State on Friday and at South Dakota Mines on Saturday. Live stats and video on the RMAC Network will be offered 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.