#22 Mines (18-6, 13-3 RMAC) vs. Black Hills State (4-20, 3-13 RMAC) – Lockridge Arena – Friday, 7 p.m. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
#22 Mines (18-6, 13-3 RMAC) vs. South Dakota Mines (10-14, 7-9 RMAC) – Lockridge Arena – Saturday, 5 p.m. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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WEEKEND OF CELEBRATIONS
The #22 Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team will play at home this weekend for the first time since Oct. 14 and for the last time in 2022. Multiple celebrations are slated including Parent Night on Friday as the Orediggers host Black Hills State. Senior Night and Alumni Night are on the docket for Saturday with South Dakota Mines in town. First serve Friday is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday will start at 5 p.m., and senior recognition will follow the match. Postseason implications remain in play as the only guarantee for Colorado School of Mines is a berth in the RMAC Tournament.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Both matches this weekend and all conference tournament matches for Oredigger volleyball 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.
 
SENIOR RECOGNITION
As hinted above, the celebration of five Oredigger seniors will take place after Saturday's match against South Dakota Mines. Fans are encouraged to stick around to help recognize the five special ladies.
 
ADDITIONAL FAN INFO
In conjunction with the weekend's celebrations, there are additional recognitions and promotions as well. It all starts with National Candy Day on Friday which will include free candy at the door. Friday continues with the recognition of current Oredigger volleyball parents during starting lineups. Between the second and third sets of the Black Hills State match, Lindsey Jin (2017-21) will be recognized for reaching 1,000 kills in her career. Saturday's pre-match ceremonies include two more milestone recognitions for Drew Stokes and Elle Duis. Alumni will take the court between the second and third sets of the South Dakota Mines match. As previously mentioned, Senior Night ceremonies will take place after Saturday's match.
 
LOOKING BACK
The Orediggers concluded a four-match road trip last weekend at Westminster on Friday and at then-#19 Colorado Mesa on Saturday. Mines swept the Griffins in Salt Lake City behind Emily Knight's 13 kills, Rose Stuewe's 12 kills and Megan Neil's 10 kills as the team hit .355. Elle Duis also had 11 digs and Morgan McChesney racked up five total blocks. On Saturday, the Orediggers were swept by CMU. Neil was the highlight for the visitors with 10 kills on .500 hitting.
 
SCOUTING BLACK HILLS STATE
Under the guidance of first-year, interim head coach Bree Davis, Black Hills State has posted an overall record of 4-20 while going 3-13 in conference play. The Yellow Jackets are mathematically eliminated from the postseason and have lost five straight matches. The last win for Coach Davis' squad was Friday, Oct. 14, at home against Western Colorado. Three other wins for BHSU came against Missouri Western, at South Dakota Mines, and against Westminster. The Yellow Jackets have suffered 10 sweeps in 20 losses. They've also pushed three opponents to five sets. As a team, Black Hills State hits .142 with opponents converting at a .214 clip. Individually, Haedyn Rhoades is the RMAC leader in total digs this season and ranks #24 in the nation in digs per set. Madison Hoopman leads the offense with 257 kills on .183 hitting. Karly Marx is the lone setter with 758 assists.
 
OREDIGGERS AGAINST THE YELLOW JACKETS
Mines is 14-1 in the all-time series against Black Hills State. The Orediggers lost their first-ever meeting with the Yellow Jackets on Oct. 24, 1992, and haven't lost since. Ten of the 14 consecutive wins have come in straight sets. Mines and BHSU have never played five sets in one match. The last meeting was a 3-1 win for the Oreidggers earlier this season in Spearfish, S.D. Emily Knight had 16 kills and hit .484. Elle Duis racked up 17 digs and knocked down two service aces.
 
SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA MINES
Unlike its northern counterpart, South Dakota Mines enters the weekend at 10-14 (7-9 RMAC) and fighting for its postseason life. The Hardrockers are currently tied for the eighth, and final, spot in the conference tournament, but Fort Lewis, Adams State and Chadron State are all right behind. That being said, South Dakota Mines starts its weekend against Chadron State in Nebraska. The Hardrockers played themselves into contention by winning six of their last 10 after starting the 2022 RMAC campaign with a record of 1-7. Individually, Jacey Koethe is the player to watch on offense. She has 308 kills and hits .309, ranking #1 in the RMAC in points, #4 in kills, #10 in hitting percentage, and #4 in total blocks. Another notable scorer is Hannah Benes and her 32 service aces. Kiley Metzger is the setter with 761 assists. Anna Thomas anchors the back row with 432 digs.
 
OREDIGGERS AGAINST THE HARDROCKERS
Colorado School of Mines owns a 9-4 lead in the all-time series with South Dakota Mines. The rivalry began in 1986 with the Hardrockers winning three straight. Since that time, the Orediggers are 9-1 including six sweeps. Colorado School of Mines and South Dakota Mines met earlier this season in Rapid City, and the Orediggers walked away with a 3-1 victory thanks to Rose Stuewe's 15 kills on .333 hitting. Also notable in that match was Drew Stokes' 46-assist, 16-dig double-double, and SDM star Jacey Koethe's 15 kills on .353 hitting. Emily Knight had four total blocks as well. The last time the Orediggers lost to the Hardrockers was Oct. 5, 2019, in a five-set thriller at Lockridge Arena. It marked the only five-set match to date in the all-time series.
 
MEET THE SENIORS
On Saturday night, after the match with South Dakota Mines, the Orediggers will recognize Gabby Castronova, Elle Duis, Megan Neil, Audrey Richard and Drew Stokes for their careers at Colorado School of Mines. Their combined tenure began in 2018 with the arrival of Duis, Stokes, and Neil with Castronova and Richard arriving a year later. Since that time, the Orediggers racked up an overall record of 104-27 while going 66-16 in RMAC play. Castronova, Duis, Neil, Richard and Stokes combined to win a total of four RMAC championships, including the regular season title in 2018, along with three NCAA Tournament appearances (there was no NCAA Tournament in 2020-21), and one trip to the NCAA Sweet 16, the first Sweet 16 appearance in program history. Additional individual accolades and statistics will be recognized on Saturday night.
 
RMAC OUTLOOK
Many questions regarding the RMAC Tournament have been answered in one week of play, but plenty of ambiguity still exists. MSU Denver, Colorado Mesa, Regis, Mines, CSU Pueblo, Colorado Christian have all clinched a berth in the conference postseason. MSU Denver is guaranteed the #1 seed and rights to host. Colorado Mesa and Regis have both clinched a top-four seed. One more win for Mines will also clinch a top-four slot for the Orediggers. Only one match separates CSU Pueblo and CCU at #5 and #6. UCCS and South Dakota Mines are tied at #7 and #8 with Fort Lewis, Adams State, and Chadron State still in the mix. If the conference tournament began today, Mines would face CSU Pueblo in the first round. Furthermore, if the Orediggers win at least one match this weekend, they are guaranteed to play either CSU Pueblo or CCU.
 
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
It's worth noting that the format for the 2022 RMAC Volleyball Tournament is different than past years. All three rounds will be played Thursday-Saturday at the top seed and regular season champion. In this case, the tournament is headed to MSU Denver. Due to the NCAA Division II Festival year, the season was shifted closer to December. That put the traditional quarterfinal round on Election Day which has been declared a "dead day" or a day with no NCAA practices or competitions. That is why the change to the format was made.
 
REAL REGIONAL RANKINGS
Last week, the first edition of the NCAA regional rankings was released, displaying the potential qualifying teams in alphabetical order. This week, the NCAA unveiled ordered regional rankings and Mines appeared at #5 on the list. The regional rankings determine the eight teams from each of the eight regions in NCAA Division II that qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The first three rounds of the tournament are played at the site of the #1 seed in the region. Tuesday's edition of the list featured MSU Denver #1, West Texas A&M #2, Colorado Mesa #3, and Regis #4. The bottom half included Dallas Baptist #6, UT Tyler #7, and CSU Pueblo #8. The first two teams out of the tournament were Texas A&M-Kingsville and Texas A&M-International. If the NCAA South Central Region Tournament started this weekend, Mines would play Regis at MSU Denver.
 
1,000 AGAIN
Drew Stokes needs just one assist this weekend to reach 1,000 assists for the season. It will mark the fourth time in her career that she has posted over 1,000 assists in a season. She currently ranks #3, #5, and #6 on Mines' single-season list. The Illinois native is also the Orediggers' all-time assists leader after surpassing Danielle Johnson-Hazlewood (2012-15) earlier this season. Stokes leads all active players in NCAA Division II in career assists and ranks #2 in career assists per set. Across all divisions of the NCAA, the Murphysboro High School graduate is #3 in total career assists and career assists per set. Let's be honest, we could write a whole article on Stokes' accomplishments, but we'll stop here, for now.
 
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
While the national rankings released by the American Volleyball Coaches' Association technically have no bearing on the national postseason (that's the NCAA regional rankings), Mines did appear in the 10th release of the national list for 2022. Despite going 1-1 last week, the Orediggers dropped just one spot to #22 in the nation. MSU Denver remained #1, Regis jumped to #14 and Colorado Mesa rose to #15. Other 2022 foes for the Orediggers were Southwest Minnesota State at #7 with Ferris State and Hillsdale receiving votes. West Texas A&M was the only other team from the South Central Region on the list, slotting in at #11.
 
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 336-108 (.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 12 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Magalei has led the Orediggers to either a RMAC regular-season or tournament title every season since 2012 including a sweep of both in 2015.
 
UP NEXT
The next action for Mines volleyball will be the 2022 RMAC Volleyball Tournament. The Orediggers will face either CSU Pueblo or Colorado Christian on Thursday, Nov. 10, at MSU Denver. Match time has yet to be announced. Live coverage of both matches will be offered at www.minesathletics.com. Tickets will be available online or at the door.
 
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.