2022 NCAA South Central Region Tournament (hosted by MSU Denver) [Tickets] [Live Stats] [RMAC Network] [Bracket] [Tournament Central]
#22 Mines (21-7) vs. (3) #14 Regis (22-7) – Thursday, 2:30 p.m. – Auraria Event Center – Denver, Colo.
NCAA Regional Semifinals – Friday – 5 p.m. – Auraria Event Center, Denver, Colo.
NCAA Regional Final – Saturday – 6 p.m. – Auraria Event Center, Denver, Colo.

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NEW SEASON STARTS NOW
The #22-ranked Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team starts a whole new season Thursday as they open the 2022 NCAA South Central Region tournament at the Auraria Event Center in downtown Denver. The sixth-seeded Orediggers face third-seeded and #14-ranked Regis at 2:30 p.m. Mines is no stranger to the NCAA tournament, making its 13th consecutive appearance and 14th in program history. It's an eight-team, single-elimination bracket and the truest win-or-go-home setting there is in collegiate sports.
 
TICKETS
Fans can purchase tickets online or at the door, but with digital download available, all spectators are encouraged to use the online ticketing platform for purchasing. Single ticket prices are $12 for adults and $6 for seniors (65+), students (12+) and youth (6-11). Children five and under get in free. One ticket is good for all the matches played on that particular day. There are also all-tournament passes available, running $20 for adults and $10 for seniors, students, and youth.
 
PARKING (CODES)
The best location to park is the Tivoli Garage located at the corner of Auraria Parkway and 9th street. Fans can use parking codes provided by MSU Denver to park for free. Those codes and the license plate number must be entered into the parking kiosks in which ever garage chosen. While the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche are out of town this weekend, commuters to the arena should be aware of emergency road work on the campus of MSU Denver.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
All seven matches of the 2022 NCAA South Central Region tournament will stream live and for free on the RMAC Network which can be accessed at minesathletics.com/tv as well as with apps on all major smart TV platforms by searching RMAC. Live statistics are also available at www.minesathletics.com.
 
THE BRACKET [INTERACTIVE]
As mentioned in the first section, the NCAA South Central Region bracket features eight teams, it is single elimination, and there are no byes. All seven matches are played at the #1 seed whether they advance or not. For 2022, the #1 seed is MSU Denver. There will be four first-round matches Thursday, two semifinals Friday, and the regional championship will be played Saturday at 6 p.m. Action starts on Thursday at 12 p.m. between second-seeded and #9-ranked West Texas A&M and seventh-seeded UT Tyler. The winner of that match will face the winner of Mines and Regis on Friday at 5 p.m. On the other side of the bracket, top-seeded and #1-ranked MSU Denver hosts eighth-seeded CSU Pueblo at 5 p.m. That winner faces the victory between fourth-seeded Dallas Baptist and fifth-seeded and #18-ranked Colorado Mesa which goes off at 7:30 p.m.
 
SCOUTING REGIS
Regis earned the #3 seed in the region with a 22-7 record which included a run to the RMAC Tournament championship match last weekend. The Rangers were the #2 seed in the conference tournament thanks to a 16-2 mark in RMAC play. Their last match was a four-set loss to top-seeded and top-ranked MSU Denver. Regis touts six individuals who appeared on the All-RMAC lists. Middle blocker Amelia Davis and Mara LeGrand earned first-team honors. Nadine Burbink, Klaudia Sowizral, and Halle Theis were second-teamers. Haley Kennedy appeared on the honorable mention list. Theis leads the team with 329 kills, and Davis is tops with a .337 attack percentage which has resulted in 315 kills. LeGrand is #29 in the nation in assists per set and #24 in total assists. She also has a triple-double in 2022. As a team, RU hits .250 which ranks #27 in the nation. The Rangers' 13.62 kills per set are #30 nationally.
 
OREDIGGERS AGAINST THE RANGERS
The second-longest rivalry in Mines volleyball history continues on Thursday. It will be the 79th installment in the all-time series, and the third meeting between the Orediggers and Rangers in 2022. Mines holds a 27-50-1 record against Regis. The Orediggers and RU split their 2022 regular-season matchups with each team defending home court in three sets. Mines' sweep of Regis in Golden marked its first win against the Rangers since Sept. 16, 2021. Rose Stuewe hammered out 16 kills on .448 hitting and added four total blocks. Drew Stokes notched a 29-assist, 10-dig double-double. In the NCAA tournament, Mines and RU have only played twice. The first meeting was in 2017 which Regis won in four sets in the regional semifinals. The Orediggers and Rangers also played in 2019 in the regional final inside Regis Field House where the home team earned the sweep.
 
THE REST OF THE FIELD
In total, the 2022 South Central Region bracket features five teams from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and three from the Lone Star Conference. Mines enters the weekend with a season record of 3-4 against the RMAC teams in the field. The Orediggers swept Regis, toppled CSU Pueblo in four sets, and also beat "The Pack" in five sets. Mines was swept by Regis and Colorado Mesa, and dropped a five-setter and four-setter to MSU Denver. The only LSC foe the Orediggers saw during the regular season was seventh-seeded UT Tyler. Mines swept the Patriots, who were ranked #19 at the time, to close the Oredigger Volleyball Classic at the beginning of the season. That sweep makes the Orediggers 4-4 against the field in 2022.
 
MINES IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Thursday marks Mines' 14th trip to the national postseason. Head Coach Jamie Magalei and her assistant Heather Dewhirst are responsible for the last 13 which have come in consecutive years. The run started in 2009, but Coach Magalei had to wait until 2011 to get her first NCAA tournament win. It was a five-set victory over top-seeded Nebraska-Kearney with the Orediggers playing as the #8 seed. Overall, Mines is 9-13 in 22 matches in the national postseason. The Orediggers are 4-3 in three-set matches, 4-5 in four-set matches, and 1-5 in five-set thrillers. Since 2015, the Orediggers are 5-1 in the first round thanks to three sweeps and two 3-1 victories. During that span, Mines' opponents include Texas Woman's, Angelo State, MSU Denver, Tarleton State and West Texas A&M. The Orediggers last trip to the NCAA tournament in 2021 featured them as the #2 seed, but they fell to seventh-seeded West Texas A&M in the first round. The Lady Buffs went on to win the region and advance to the NCAA Elite Eight. The Orediggers' deepest run in the NCAA Tournament came in 2019 when they advanced to the Sweet 16 (regional final).
 
LOOKING BACK
Colorado School of Mines last took the volleyball court in the 2022 RMAC Tournament last week. The fourth-seeded Orediggers outlasted fifth-seeded CSU Pueblo to earn a 3-2 win in the first round. Rose Stuewe bolstered the effort with 19 kills and four blocks which eventually earned her all-tournament status. Emily Knight and Shannon Perna combined for 25 kills while Drew Stokes put up a 54-assist, 19-dig double-double. Elle Duis had 18 digs as well. Mines' next match was as semifinal showdown with MSU Denver which the Roadrunners claimed, 3-1. Stuewe walked away with 19 more kills on .350 hitting. Duis put up 18 more digs.
 
2022 ALL-RMAC
Prior to the start of the 2022 RMAC Volleyball Tournament, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference unveiled its all-conference teams. For Mines, Drew Stokes was named RMAC Setter of the Year and First-Team All-RMAC. Rose Stuewe joined Stokes as First-Team All-RMAC. Elle Duis and Megan Neil were both named Second-Team All-RMAC to make it four Orediggers on the All-RMAC squads. Thursday's announcement marked Stokes' fourth RMAC Setter of the Year award and fifth First-Team All-RMAC distinction. Duis also became a five-time All-RMAC player while Stuewe earned her third award. Neil's second-team nod was the first all-conference accolade of her career.
 
ALL-TIME GREATS
Graduate students Drew Stokes and Elle Duis have written their names all over the program record book over the last five seasons. Earlier this year, Stokes became the Orediggers' all-time assists leader. She enters the NCAA tournament with 5,793 assists in her career. That ranks #1 among all active players in NCAA Division II and #3 across all divisions of the NCAA. Additionally, during this season alone, Stokes is #3 in DII in assists per set and #14 in total assists. Duis became Mines' all-time digs leader earlier this season as well. She'll open the NCAA tournament with 2,236 digs which ranks #4 among all active players in DII. Among other numerous accomplishments, Stokes and Duis are both climbing the Orediggers' all-time service ace list. Stokes is #4 with 128. Duis ranks #6 with 120.
 
STILL #1
Colorado School of Mines is still #1 in NCAA Division II this season in assists per set and kills per set. That's it. That's the "tweet."
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Now that the NCAA has made its selections for the national postseason, the American Volleyball Coaches' Association's national rankings matter even less. Even so, we'll give you an update. Monday's release of the poll saw Mines remain #22 in the nation. MSU Denver stayed #1. Other RMAC teams included Regis at #14 and Colorado Mesa at #18. West Texas A&M rose from #11 to #9.
 
OFFICIALLY A HALL OF FAMER
On Saturday, Oct. 8, Oredigger volleyball all-American Jackie Stabell was officially inducted into the Mines Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the 2022 class. The ceremony took place on as part of the Mines Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet and Auction inside Lockridge Arena. Stabell played for the Orediggers from 2009-12 as became the first all-American in Mines Volleyball's decorated history. A two-time all-American, Stabell was a member of four NCAA Tournament-qualifying teams and paced the Orediggers to the first of what would become four consecutive RMAC regular-season championships in 2012. The 2012 RMAC Player of the Year set records along the way from her outside hitter position, establishing herself as the program's all-time kills leader over her four-year career. Her full bio can be found HERE.
 
AT THE HELM
Head Coach Jamie Magalei is in her 15th season leading the Mines volleyball program in 2022. She is easily the program's all-time leader in total wins and win percentage at 339-109 (.756). Her winning percentage going into the season ranked #15 among active NCAA Division II head coaches with a minimum of five years at a DII program. Her 318 wins at the start of 2022 put her #47 in terms of total wins among active DII coaches. Magalei's win total also ranks second among active RMAC coaches. Last season, Magalei became only the sixth head volleyball coach to earn 300 wins while coaching in the RMAC. Through 2021, Magalei has guided Mines to six RMAC regular-season titles and five RMAC Tournament trophies with 13 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Magalei led the Orediggers to either a RMAC regular-season or tournament title every season from 2012-21 including a sweep of both in 2015.
 
UP NEXT
If Mines wins on Thursday, it will play on Friday. If the Orediggers win Friday, they play on Saturday. A loss at any time ends Mines' season. However, if the Orediggers win on Saturday, they advance to the national quarterfinals (Elite Eight) which will be played Dec. 1-3 in Seattle, Wash.  
 
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.