Sept. 3-4 – Lockridge Arena – Golden, Colo. – Tournament Central
#12 Mines (0-0) vs. Seattle Pacific (0-0) – Friday, 1:30 p.m. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
#12 Mines (0-0) vs. Midwestern State (0-0) – Friday, 6 p.m. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
#12 Mines (0-0) vs. (RV) Grand Valley State (0-0) – Saturday, 11:30 a.m. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
#12 Mines (0-0) vs. (RV) Southwest Minnesota State (0-0) – Saturday, 4:30 p.m. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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THE 2021 OREDIGGER VOLLEYBALL CLASSIC
On Friday and Saturday, Sept. 3-4, the 12th-ranked Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team will host the 16th Oredigger Classic inside Lockridge Arena. It marks the season opener for the Fall 2021 slate after Mines also played a truncated season in the spring. The weekend field features a total of eight teams including two inside the nation's top-25 and two others receiving votes in the national poll. Over the course of two days, 16 matches will be contested on two courts inside Lockridge Arena as the Orediggers specifically face Seattle Pacific, Midwestern State, Grand Valley State and Southwest Minnesota State.
 
FAN INFORMATION
Mines athletics is excited to welcome fans back to home matches this fall. Campus policy asks that all unvaccinated individuals wear masks indoors while every individual is strongly encouraged to wear a mask when social distancing is not possible. Tickets for all matches are available at the box office (cash or credit) or online at www.minesathletics.com/tickets. Fans are reminded that they must pay for on-campus parking prior to 5 p.m. on Friday, but Saturday's parking is free.
 
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.
 
LOOKING BACK
During the spring, Mines battled through the adversity presented by the COVID-19 pandemic to produce an overall record of 11-4 while going 8-4 in conference play. The Orediggers' RMAC record earned them the fifth seed in the conference tournament which improved to the fourth seed after Regis was forced to bow out. Mines took advantage of the situation by sweeping Western Colorado in the first round and then #2-ranked Colorado Mesa in the second round on the Mavericks' home court. The Orediggers capped their run with a four-set win over then #3-ranked MSU Denver to claim the RMAC Tournament crown. That performance led to a final national ranking of ninth – the best in program history. Drew Stokes was named RMAC Setter of the Year, First-Team All-RMAC and RMAC Tournament MVP. Elle Duis and Taylor Hicken were crowned First-Team All-RMAC as well. Amanda Donais and Julia Eiken earned Second-Team All-RMAC and Honorable Mention All-RMAC, respectively. Donais, Hicken and Rose Stuewe were also RMAC All-Tournament.
 
FURTHER BACK
The last time Mines volleyball played a full slate with a NCAA Tournament and NCAA Championship on the line was 2019. During that season, the Orediggers went 25-7 overall and 13-5 in the RMAC while claiming the conference tournament crown. Mines earned its 11th consecutive NCAA Tournament berth and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history before falling to 11th-ranked Regis in the South Central Regional Tournament Final. Both Abby Tiesman and Drew Stokes were named AVCA All-America while Tiesman also claimed South Central Region Player of the Year.
 
PREVIEWING THE FIELD
This weekend's Oredigger Classic has Mines playing host to seven other teams. Colorado Christian, Colorado Mesa, Grand Valley State, Midwestern State, Seattle Pacific, Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State will all travel to Golden, Colo., and make up one of the most difficult Oredigger Classic Fields in history. Colorado Mesa sits 10th in the national poll after winning the RMAC Regular Season championship in the spring. Both Grand Valley State and Southwest Minnesota State tout votes in the coaches' national poll. Sioux Falls joins SWMSU as a second program out of the highly-touted Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference while CCU makes it three teams out of the RMAC which boasts four teams in the nation's top-25. Colorado Christian went 5-13 in the spring and claimed the last spot in the conference tournament bracket. As mentioned above, CMU claimed the regular-season title thanks to a 15-0 record before falling to Mines in the semifinals. Grand Valley State posted a 12-4 mark and also fell in the GLIAC Tournament semifinals. Midwestern State played their spring in the Lone Star Conference and finished 10-7 with their final loss coming at the hands of now preseason #1 Angelo State. Seattle Pacific posted a spring mark of 11-7 but did not have a conference tournament. Both Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State have not played since the fall of 2019.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Mines' four-match slate for the weekend proves to be quite the gauntlet for the Orediggers as they sit 2-5 overall against the four opponents. The hosts are 0-1 against Seattle Pacific who they play at 1:30 p.m. on Friday. Their last meeting was a sweep for the Falcons on Sept. 26, 1991 – nearly 30 years ago. Mines touts a 2-0 record against Midwestern State. Those two teams meet at 6 p.m. on Friday and last met at the Oredigger Classic on Sept. 5, 2015. Saturday's 11:30 a.m. match marks the first-ever meeting between the Orediggers and Grand Valley State. Mines closes the weekend facing bitter rival Southwest Minnesota State at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. The Mustangs boast a 4-0 record over the Orediggers including multiple NCAA Tournament meetings. They last faced off on Sept. 9, 2016 at the Colorado Premiere in Denver.
 
OREDIGGER CLASSIC HISTORY
As previously mentioned, this weekend's gathering of volleyballers marks the 16th Oredigger Classic. The event began in 2005 and has marked Mines' season opener for seven of the last eight campaigns with last spring marking the only break in that run. Since the event's inception, the Orediggers tout a record of 48-13 with 156 set victories compared to just 64 sets lost. Current head lady Jamie Magalei took the reins in 2008 and made it the Orediggers' season opener every season since with the exception of 2013 and the fall of 2020. With Magalei at the helm, Mines is 42-7 with a set record of 132-43. Furthermore, the Orediggers are 21-3 since 2014 with their only losses coming against Augustana (S.D.) and Northern State. In that same span, Mines has swept 13 opponents with five wins coming in four sets. The most recent Oredigger Classic in 2019 featured Mines sweeping Dallas Baptist and Lubbock Christian on day one. Day two included a four-set win over Alaska Fairbanks and a four-set loss to then #8-ranked Northern State.
 
GUESS WHO'S BACK
Everyone. Well, nearly everyone. Eighteen out of 19 individuals are back from the 2020-21 roster including all 14 letter winners. April Jergensen and Lindsey Jin return as the lead veterans, taking advantage of their extension of eligibility due to COVID. Also back are all five of Mines' All-RMAC players including RMAC Setter of the Year Drew Stokes, First-Team All-RMAC honorees Elle Duis and Taylor Hicken, Second-Team All-RMAC selection Amanda Donais and Honorable Mention All-RMAC player Julia Eiken. Additional veterans featured are Danielle Mullen, Gabby Castronova, Cora McCanlies, Rose Stuewe, Megan Neil and Audrey Richard. Madison Glassco, Veronique Magnan, Chase Kluna, Shannon Perna and Madeleine Nightengale-Luhan made up the true freshman class of 2020-21.
 
FRESH FACES
Despite the pandemic and an extension of eligibility, Mines Head Coach Jamie Magalei did not sit on her hands. The 14th-year skipper took to the recruiting trail and added five new Orediggers to the 2021-22 squad. Ella Martin signed on out of Leawood, Kan. Lily Plaugher arrives from Cincinnati, Ohio. Emma Smithey journeyed to Golden from Waxahachie, Texas. Hope Storm serves as a local product out of Colorado Springs. Martin, Plaugher, Smithey and Storm all join the squad as true freshmen. Emily Knight rounded out the class from Brooten, Minn., by way of Ridgewater College and Iowa Western Community College where she helped the Reivers claim the 2020-21 NJCAA Division I National Championship.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
Late last month, the American Volleyball Coaches' Association unveiled their 2021 Division II Coaches' Top-25 with Mines featured at #12. It marks the Orediggers' highest preseason ranking since 2015 and third-highest in program history. Other RMAC teams in the AVCA poll included Colorado Mesa at 10th, MSU Denver in 11th and Regis in 22nd. South Central Regional foe Angelo State claimed the top spot with 22 first-place votes. UT Tyler was the only other team from the region inside the top-25 while Texas A&M-Kingsville, West Texas A&M, and UAFS rolled into the receiving votes section. Additionally, Washburn checked in at #8 and Mines will face them in Colorado Springs on Sept. 11. Grand Valley State and Southwest Minnesota State received votes and will be in Golden for the Oredigger Volleyball Classic.
 
RMAC PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
Two days after the AVCA unveiled their national poll, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference announced its preseason coaches' list with the Orediggers sitting third. The ballots from all 15 head coaches provided Mines 172 votes including three first-place votes. That total put the Orediggers just two votes behind MSU Denver and 10 behind Colorado Mesa as the Roadrunners garnered three first-place votes to take second and the Mavericks claimed seven top votes as the projected champion. Regis rounded out the top four thanks to 156 total votes and one first-place vote. The coaches' projection for the Orediggers matches the preseason list from last spring and marks a two-spot bump from the final standings in which the Orediggers took fifth. The conference coaches could not vote for their own team.
 
Fall 2021 RMAC Preseason Volleyball Coaches' Poll
1. Colorado Mesa (7) – 182
2. MSU Denver (3) – 174
3. Colorado School of Mines (3) – 172
4. Regis (1) – 156
5. CSU Pueblo – 144
6. Colorado Christian – 125
7. South Dakota Mines – 98
t8. UCCS – 93
t8. Western Colorado – 93
10. Black Hills State – 88
11. Fort Lewis – 87
12. Chadron State – 61
13. Westminster – 44
14. Adams State (1) – 43
15. New Mexico Highlands – 15
 
BEST IN NCAA DIVISION II
During the 2020-21 season, Colorado School of Mines had 16 individuals crowned CoSIDA Academic All-America. It marked the fourth straight year that the Orediggers have led all of NCAA Division II in CoSIDA Academic All-America selections. It's also the fifth time in six years that Mines has led the nation. Volleyball's Lindsey Jin did her part by earning CoSIDA Second-Team Academic All-America. She became just the second player in program history to accomplish the feat. Taryn Huber was the first volleyball player to claim CoSIDA Academic All-America status with third-team honors in 2016. Since 2015, the entire Mines Athletic Department has had 79 honorees. In 2020-21 alone, only four other programs across all divisions had more including Stanford (22), MIT (19), Alabama (18) and Johns Hopkins (18). The CoSIDA Academic All-America program recognizes student-athletes who display an outstanding combination of athletic and academic achievement; honorees are sophomores or above academically with cumulative GPAs of 3.3 or above. The average GPA of Mines' 16 honorees in 2020-21 was 3.84.
 
FUN FACT OF THE WEEK
This season, instead of dissecting mascots and program nicknames, the author will provide a weekly fun fact in each preview. The readers should note that "fun" is relative to the author's tastes are no apologies are made if one reads the entire preview and finds the fact less than fun or even a mediocre level of fun factness. This week's fun fact is a simple one. Mines' opening weekend for the 2021-22 year begins on Thursday and features 22 home events over the course of four days. You read that correctly, there will be 22 NCAA Division II contests taking place in Golden on the campus of Colorado School of Mines over the course of Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. That breakdown includes 16 volleyball matches, three women's soccer matches, two men's soccer matches and one football game. This does not include the Oredigger men's and women's cross country team competing at the Wyoming Invite in Cheyenne. All 22 events in Golden will feature live stats and be streamed live and for free on the RMAC Network. So pick something and watch it. The full schedule for the weekend can be found at www.minesathletics.com/calendar.
 
UP NEXT
The Orediggers' next action takes place Sept. 10-11 at the Mountain Lion Classic. The Orediggers will face William Jewell and Lubbock Christian on Friday before closing out against Texas A&M-International and #8-ranked Washburn on Saturday. Live stats and video 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.