2021 NCAA South Central Region Tournament (hosted by MSU Denver) [Tickets] [Live Stats] [RMAC Network] [Bracket] [Tournament Central]
#8 Mines (26-3) vs. (7) West Texas A&M (23-4) – Thursday, 2:30 p.m. – Auraria Event Center – Denver, Colo.
NCAA Tournament Second Round – Friday – 5 p.m. – Auraria Event Center – Denver, Colo.
NCAA Regional Championship – Saturday – 7:30 p.m. – Auraria Event Center – Denver, Colo.

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LET'S DANCE
After 11 days off from competition, the #8-ranked Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team returns to action on Thursday in its NCAA Tournament opener. It marks the Orediggers' 12th straight appearance in the big dance and 13th in program history. Second-seeded Mines faces off against seventh-seeded West Texas A&M at 2:30 p.m. inside the Auraria Event Center on the campus of MSU Denver. In the single-elimination tournament, winners advance to the next round for a shot at a NCAA Division II Championship. Losers see their season come to a close, making it truly, win-or-go-home.
 
FAN INFORMATION
Masks are required for all fans inside the Auraria Event Center, regardless of vaccination status.
There is no passlist for postseason play and tickets are needed for all spectators, with the exception of current Mines students with their BlasterCard, whose admission to Thursday's opener and any subsequent Oredigger matches is covered courtesy of Mines Student Life.
 
PARKING (CODES)
Parking for the Auraria Event Center requires fans to enter a validation code to receive FREE parking. Fans must enter their license playe number and validation code into the parking kiosks in the Tivoli Parking Garage. Parking codes for each day can be found on the Championship Central page. Links for the 2021 NCAA Division II Volleyball Regional parking codes will become live two hours before the first match.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Since MSU Denver is a fellow member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, all matches in the South Central Region Tournament will be streamed live and for free on the RMAC Network. Live stats are also linked above and will be offered on the volleyball schedule page at www.minesathletics.com. Fans can also access the live stats on the Championship Central page.
 
THE BRACKET [INTERACTIVE]
Just like the RMAC Tournament, the NCAA South Central Region Tournament bracket features eight teams in a single-elimination format. There are no byes. All matches are played at top-seeded MSU Denver. The other three first-round matches feature third-seeded Colorado Mesa taking on sixth-seeded UT Tyler at noon on Thursday. Fourth-seeded Angelo State and fifth-seeded Regis face off after Mines and WTAMU at 5 p.m. MSU Denver hosts eighth-seeded CSU Pueblo in the nightcap at 7:30 p.m. The winner between the Orediggers and Lady Buffs will play the winner of CMU and UTT at 5 p.m. on Friday. Saturday's regional championship match will go off at 7:30 p.m. The champion of the South Central Region will advance to the NCAA Elite Eight (national quarterfinals) where the remaining teams will be reseeded in Tampa, Fla., running Dec. 9-11.
 
MINES IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
As stated above, Thursday marks the Orediggers' 12th straight trip to the NCAA Tournament and 13th overall. Mines Head Coach Jamie Magalei and assistant Heather Roberts are responsible for the Orediggers' 12 consecutive trips to the big dance after taking over the program in 2008. That duo started the run in 2009. Coach Magalei put her first NCAA Tournament on her resume in 2011 with a five-set win over Nebraska-Kearney. Most recently, Magalei guided her team to the regional final at Regis in 2019 for the first time in program history. That run came as the #2 seed with a sweep of Tarleton State followed by a four-set win over third-seeded and #12 ranked Angelo State. The Orediggers fell in the final, 3-0, to top-seeded and #11-ranked Regis. Overall, Mines is 9-12 in 21 matches in the national postseason. The Orediggers are 4-3 in three-set matches with a 4-5 mark in four-set affairs, while going 1-4 in five-set thrillers. Additionally, since 2015, Mines is 5-0 in the first round thanks to three sweeps and two 3-1 victories. During that span, Oredigger opponents include Texas Woman's, Angelo State, MSU Denver and Tarleton State.
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS
While the national rankings put together by the American Volleyball Coaches' Association (AVCA) never actually mattered, the list matters even less now. That being said, here is a quick recap of the latest rankings. Mines checked in at #8 following their upset of #1 MSU Denver in the RMAC Tournament Championship match. Central Missouri took over the #1 spot from the Roadrunners who fell to #3. Other South Central Region teams on the list include Angelo State at #11 and UT Tyler at #22. Regis, West Texas A&M, Colorado Mesa and CSU Pueblo were all receiving votes. The first three checked in at the equivalent of #26, #27 and #28. That technically puts all eight teams in the regional tournament top-40 in the nation.
 
LOOKING BACK
Mines' last action was on Saturday, Dec. 20, inside the Auraria Event Center. It was the championship match of the RMAC Tournament and the Orediggers hoisted the conference cup after five grueling sets against then #1-ranked MSU Denver. Mines dropped the first two sets before rallying back for three straight wins. Amanda Donais pumped out a 15-kill, 13-dig double-double while Taylor Hicken, Julia Eiken and Megan Neil all produced double-digit kills. Drew Stokes was named the tournament MVP after producing a 50-assist, 16-dig double-double. Elle Duis, Rose Stuewe and Donais were voted RMAC All-Tournament as well. However, Neil was arguably the hero after coming off the bench late in the second set and hammering down 12 kills with zero errors for a .500 hitting percentage.
 
SCOUTING WEST TEXAS A&M
West Texas A&M earned the #7 seed after winning the Lone Star Conference Tournament. The Lady Buffs come to Denver with an overall record of 23-4 including five straight wins. Three of those victories came in the conference postseason against the league's #12, #8 and #10 seeds. All four of WTAMU's losses came on the road including a sweep at the hands of then #3 Nebraska-Kearney followed by a four-set loss at then #25 UT Tyler. The other two losses were back-to-back as well at then #6 Angelo State – in three sets – and a five-set heartbreaker at Lubbock Christian. Individually, Torrey Miller is the Lady Buffs' main offensive weapon thanks to 363 kills at 3.95 kills per set on .274 hitting. She ranks #19 in the nation in kills per set and #23 in points per set. As a team, WTAMU flaunts an impressive block which averages 2.40 blocks per set. That number ranks #16 in the nation and has led to the opposition hitting just .099 on the attack which ranks #4 in the nation.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Mines and West Texas A&M have faced off on the volleyball court three times in program history. The Lady Buffs have won all three putting the Orediggers at 0-3 in the all-time series. The first meeting was on Sept. 27, 1999 which WTAMU won 3-0 in Canyon, Texas. Mines and West Texas met again on Sept. 30, 2002, again in Canyon, Texas. The Lady Buffs swept that match as well. The last meeting between the two teams was Nov. 30, 2012, in Denver, Colo. Mines took its first set ever off of WTAMU, but still fell in four sets.
 
THE REST OF THE FIELD
Five of the eight teams in the South Central Region Tournament field come from the RMAC which makes Mines very familiar with a majority of the opposition. This fall, the Orediggers went 5-2 against NCAA Tournament teams from the conference and earned at least one win over each of them. Mines' two losses were in five sets on the road at MSU Denver and Regis. The Orediggers did not face Angelo State, UT Tyler or West Texas A&M this fall.
 
STREAKIN'
The Orediggers enter the weekend riding a nine-match win streak which also included seven straight 3-0 victories. While the overall streak is not the longest in program history, Mines' 22 straight set wins are a program record. All that being said, the Orediggers' nine consecutive wins are the longest active streak in the region.
 
ALL THE ACCOLADES
On Wednesday morning, the Division 2 Conference Commissioners' Association (D2CCA) unveiled its 2021 All-Region teams. Mines placed four on the all-South Central Region squad with Drew Stokes and Taylor Hicken on the first team while Amanda Donais brought home second-team distinction. It adds to a pile of accolades that also includes RMAC Setter of the Year for Stokes, First-Team All-RMAC for Stokes, Donais, Hicken and Elle Duis. Additionally, Julia Eiken, Lindsey Jin and Rose Stuewe were voted Second-Team All-RMAC. No program in the conference had more All-RMAC selections than the Orediggers. No team in the region had more All-Region selections than Mines.
 
FUN FACT OF THE WEEK
After winning the RMAC Tournament Championship match, many comments were made about Mines' success at the Auraria Event Center which is the home court for MSU Denver. Those comments were not unfounded. Not only does Oredigger nation turn out in droves in downtown Denver, but their team delivers on the Auraria Campus. Over the last half decade, Mines volleyball has played eight matches on MSU Denver's home court and the Orediggers have won six of them for a record of 6-2 since 2017. Two of those wins were to hoist the RMAC cup in the conference tournament with both coming against the Roadrunners this season and in 2019 when the host Regis experienced a gas leak inside Regis Field House the evening after losing in the semifinals. That forced the championship match between Mines and MSU Denver to be moved to the AEC.
 
UP NEXT
If Mines wins on Thursday, they will face the winner between Colorado Mesa and UT Tyler at 5 p.m. on Friday inside the Auraria Event Center. If the Orediggers lose, their season is over.
 
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.