#9 Mines (9-1, 2-0 RMAC) vs. South Dakota Mines (6-4, 0-2 RMAC) – Friday, 7 p.m. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
#9 Mines (9-1, 2-0 RMAC) vs. Black Hills State (4-6, 1-1 RMAC) – Saturday, 5 p.m. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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SOUTH DAKOTA COMES SOUTH
This weekend, the #9-ranked Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team will host the two Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schools that hail from South Dakota inside Lockridge Arena. On Friday it will be engineer vs. engineer as Mines takes on South Dakota Mines at 7 p.m. Saturday features a showdown against Black Hills State at 5 p.m. Both matches count towards the conference standings, and the Orediggers will put their six-match win streak on the line against a pair of sneakily dangerous opponents.
 
FAN INFORMATION
Mines athletics continues to welcome fans back to home matches this fall. Maska 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.
 
LOOKING BACK
The Orediggers started their RMAC slate last week with a home match against Regis followed by a road tilt at Westminster. Mines won both contests in four sets which marked its first 2-0 start to conference play since 2018. On Thursday, the Oredigers hit .272 against a Rangers squad that was the equivalent of #33 in the country in the receiving votes section of the poll. Saturday's win featured Mines hitting .384 as a team while holding the Griffins to .091 on the attack. The undefeated started extend the Orediggers' win streak to six and tied them for first in the conference standings.
 
300 FOR MAGALEI
The win over Regis on Thursday gave Mines Head Coach Jamie Magalei the 300th victory of her career. All 300 wins have come with the Orediggers over the course of 14 seasons. She became just the sixth coach in RMAC history to reach 300 career wins while coaching in the league. Within the conference, Magalei is second only to Colorado Mesa's Dave Fleming who is 306-162 over the course of 16 seasons. In her tenure, Magalei has never won fewer than 19 matches in a season which does not include last spring's truncated schedule in which she went 11-4. She has guided the Orediggers to at least 25 wins in eight straight complete seasons with no more than seven losses per year during that same time. Magalei's average record is 23-7 and she ranks among the top-25 in DII in total wins and win percentage. Intriguingly her next loss will be the 100th loss of her career.
 
SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA MINES
Third-year Head Coach Lauren Torvi Prochazka has raised the level of Hardrocker volleyball over the last two seasons, going from three to four wins each year to double-digit victories and upsets of ranked opponents. However, South Dakota Mines, to borrow a line from the rock band Green Day, has turned into a walking contradiction. Despite a 6-2 non-conference slate which included a four-set win over then #19-ranked Northern State, the Hardrockers come to Golden 0-2 in conference play with a losses at Black Hills State and at home against Western Colorado.  The loss to BHSU came in straight sets while SDM fell in five to the Mountaineers. Dejah Behrend is South Dakota Mines' top hitter thanks to 88 hills at a clip of 2.26 kills per set while hitting .211. However, the bigger story is South Dakota Mines' ability to extend rallies. Four different Hardrockers boast over 100 digs on the season led by 150 from Emma Grimm. Those dig numbers have helped make SDM the #9 team in DII in team attacks per game and the #45 team in digs per set. In summary, South Dakota Mines may not terminate the ball, but they'll make sure you don't either.
 
SCOUTING BLACK HILLS STATE
Before coming to beautiful Golden, Colo., Black Hills State will face Chadron State in Nebraska at 6 p.m. The Yellow Jackets enter the weekend 4-6 overall and 1-1 in the RMAC. Their non-conference wins came against Minnesota State-Moorhead, Bemidji State and Cameron. Black Hills State's lone RMAC victory in the early going was against in-state rival and aforementioned Hardrockers. Haedyn Rhoades serves as an individual highlight for BHSU as she ranks 40th in the nation in digs per set and 45th in total digs thanks to 194 on the season. On offense, the Yellow Jackets will look to Madison Hoopman and her 108 kills in 38 sets. Also notable are Peyton Bodemann's 37 blocks at nearly 1.0 blocks per set. Like their Dakota counterpart, Black Hills State also thrives on extending rallies.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Colorado School of Mines owns a 6-4 lead in the all-time series against South Dakota Mines while sitting 11-1 versus Black Hills State. The rivalry with SDM began in 1986 when both programs were in the NAIA, and the Hardrockers ran off three straight wins to start the series. The rivalry resumed in 2012 which started started a five-match win streak for Colorado School of Mines including four straight sweeps. South Dakota Mines scored a five-set upset in Golden in 2019 for their first RMAC win over the Orediggers. Colorado School of Mines redeemed itself last spring with yet another sweep of the Hardrockers. On the other side, Mines touts 11 consecutive victories against BHSU. The Orediggers' only loss in the rivalry came in the series premiere in 1992. Those 11 wins feature eight sweeps and three four-set affairs. Mines and Black Hills State did not play last spring due to COVID-19 protocols. However, the Orediggers did win the last meeting in 2019, taking the Yellow Jackets in four sets in Golden.
 
MAGALEI VS. THE OPPOSITION
Mines Head Coach Jamie Magalei took over the Orediggers in 2008. Since her arrival, Magalei has guided Mines to a combined record of 17-1 against this weekend's opponents. That mark includes 13 sweeps and just seven set losses. The only five-set match for Magalei in either rivalry was the 2019 edition between the Orediggers and Hardrockers.
 
RMAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK – AGAIN
For the second time this fall, Taylor Hicken and Drew Stokes claimed two of the three RMAC weekly awards. Hicken was named RMAC Offensive Player of the Week and Stokes brought home RMAC Setter of the Week. Hicken's winning resume featured 32 kills and a .474 hitting percentage. Stokes brought home the honor thanks to 93 assists, 15 digs, five kills, three aces and two blocks. It marks the 16th such award of Stokes' career and the fifth for Hicken.
 
TERMINATING THE BALL
Excuse the author's potential overuse of this term in this article, but also appreciate what the Orediggers are doing on offense this season. As a team, Mines ranks #2 in the nation in hitting percentage (.324), #3 in kills per set and #6 in assists per set (13.43). Obviously, those three go hand-in-hand as the Orediggers continue to engineer efficiency if you will. Mines also leads the RMAC in all three of those categories. Individually, Drew Stokes and Taylor Hicken have proven to be the key cogs in the Oredigger machine. The relationship between middle blocker and setter is symbiotic as Stokes ranks #5 in the country in assists per set while Hicken ranks #4 in the country in hitting percentage. Good sets turn into higher hitting percentages. Higher hitting percentages and terminating the ball make for more assists. And now you know.
 
THE NATIONAL POLL
Last week's 2-0 record pushed Mines inside the top 10 teams in the nation according to the American Volleyball Coaches' Association which ranked the Orediggers #9 in its latest poll. Mines started the season ranked #12 before dropping to #15. The last two weeks have seen the Orediggers rise to #11 and now #9. MSU Denver was the only other RMAC team in the third poll of the regular season as the Roadrunners check in at #3. Additional teams from the South Central Region include Angelo State at #2 and UT Tyler at #23. Also notable is Washburn taking over the #1 spot. Fans may recall Mines toppling then #4-ranked Washburn at the Mountain Lion Classic in Colorado Springs just over a week ago. Southwest Minnesota State, the Orediggers' only loss of the season, is now ranked #5.
 
FUN FACT OF THE WEEK
The following may be common knowledge to some, but possibly new to others and still fun for the author either way. Tiffany McCampbell is currently the associate athletic director for external relations at Colorado School of Mines. Prior to her arrival in Golden, McCampbell was the associate athletic director for internal operations and Senior Woman Administrator at South Dakota Mines. Most importantly, before McCampbell entered the world of administration she was the head volleyball coach at SDM coaching first as Tiffany Mastin and then Tiffany Mastin-McCampbell. She served as the head lady for the Hardrockers for the 2009-14 seasons. Her 79 wins are second-most in program history among 12 head coaches. McCampbell's tenure also featured South Dakota Mines' transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II. During the transition, McCampbell guided the Hardrockers to their most wins in 23 years and the program's best winning percentage in 26 years, going 27-5 while dropping just 20 sets in 32 matches. That historic season also featured four victories over in-state rival Black Hills State.  South Dakota Mines has not topped 20 wins in a season since McCampbell's retirement from coaching. Overall, the Taylor University alumnae faced the Orediggers and Coach Magalei twice in her career including one four-set loss while in South Dakota and another four-set loss while heading the program at Missouri Western. Interestingly enough, Saturday will mark nine years since McCampbell and Magalei first faced off as coaches.
 
UP NEXT
Mines continues their season on Friday, Oct. 1, at Western Colorado and Saturday, Oct. 2, at Fort Lewis. 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.