Aug. 26-27 – Lockridge Arena – Golden, Colo. – Tournament Central
#11 Mines (0-0) vs. Western Colorado (0-0) – Friday, 2:30 p.m. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
#11 Mines (0-0) vs. Northern State (0-0) – Friday, 6:30 p.m. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
#11 Mines (0-0) vs. #22 Southwest Minnesota State (0-0) – Saturday, 12:30 p.m. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
#11 Mines (0-0) vs. #19 UT Tyler (0-0) – Saturday, 4:30 p.m. [RMAC Network] [Live Stats]

 

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IT STARTS WITH "THE CLASSIC"
College volleyball has finally returned and for Colorado School of Mines fans it can only mean one thing. The 17th edition of the Oredigger Volleyball Classic. Seven teams, including Mines, will face off on two courts in Lockridge Arena over the course of two days. The Invitational begins at 11:30 a.m. on Friday. The Orediggers open their weekend at 2:30 p.m. on Friday against Western Colorado. They'll also face Northern State on Friday followed by #22 Southwest Minnesota State and #19 UT Tyler on Saturday.
 
IMPORTANT PARKING INFORMATION
Due to Celebration of Mines on Friday, parking lot D, located on Elm Street across from the Student Recreation Center, will be unavailable all day on Friday. Fans are encouraged to make use of the parking garage located at 14th and Maple Streets or Lots FF/F/A located on the south side of 19th street. Fans are also reminded that Mines is a pay-to-park campus from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Friday. Parking is free of charge after 5 p.m. on Friday and all day Saturday. Visit mines.edu/parking for a parking map.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
All 14 matches of the 2022 Oredigger Volleyball Classic 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.
 
REMEMBERING 2021
Mines finished the fall of 2021 with an overall record of 26-4 which marked the best single-season winning percentage in program history. The Orediggers also finished 16-4 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) play which was good enough for the #2 seed in the RMAC tournament. Mines proceeded to win the 2022 RMAC Volleyball Tournament thanks to a five-set win over then #1-ranked MSU Denver. That led to the #2 seed in the NCAA South Central Region tournament, marking the Orediggers' 12th consecutive trip to the national postseason. As a team, Mines led the nation and broke the program record for season hitting percentage at a clip of .313. Five individuals were named AVCA All-America including first-team status for Drew Stokes, third-team for Amanda Donais and honorable mention nods for Lindsey Jin, Taylor Hicken and Elle Duis. Also notable was the third RMAC Setter of the Year nod of Stokes' career.
 
PREVIEWING THE FIELD
As stated above, Mines' schedule at the 2022 Oredigger Volleyball Classic includes Western Colorado, Northern State, #22 Southwest Minnesota State and #19 UT Tyler. The other two teams coming to Golden are Colorado Christian and Colorado Mesa. Matches between members of the same conference will be non-conference affairs with both the RMAC and Northern Sun touting multiple representatives in the field. All seven teams playing this weekend inside Lockridge Arena appeared in the respective conference tournament in 2021. Three of the seven teams advanced to the NCAA tournament including Mines, Colorado Mesa and UT Tyler. The combined, 2021, win-loss record for all seven teams is 130-64. Four of the seven teams totaled at least 20 wins last season.
 
SERIES HISTORIES
On Friday, the Orediggers will play Western Colorado for the 74th time and Northern State for the fifth time. Mines is 36-36-1 against the Mountaineers, but the Orediggers own a nine-match win streak and have won 17 of the last 18 meetings. Mines is 1-3 against the Wolves with its lone win coming on Aug. 28, 2004, in straight sets in Grand Forks, N.D. Saturday's showdown between Mines and Southwest Minnesota State is the sixth in history with the Mustangs winning all five. The Orediggers and Patriots of UT Tyler will meet for the first time ever in Saturday's finale after UTT completed its transition from NCAA Division III to DII prior to the 2021 season.
 
OREDIGGER CLASSIC HISTORY
The Oredigger Volleyball Classic began in 2005 making Friday and Saturday, as previously mentioned, the 17th playing of the invitational. It has marked Mines' season opener for eight of the last nine seasons with the spring of 2021 marking the only break in that run. The hosts' all-time record in their own tournament is 51-14 with 165 set victories compared to 69 games lost. Oredigger Head Coach Jamie Magalei took over in 2008 and made it Mines' season opener every season since with the exception of 2013 and the 2020-21 season. Under Magalei, the Orediggers are 45-8 at their own classic thanks to a set record of 141-48. Furthermore, Mines is 23-4 since 2014 with their only losses coming against Augustana (S.D.), Northern State and Southwest Minnesota State. During that same span, Magalei's squad has swept 15 opponents with five wins coming in four sets. The last Oredigger Volleyball Classic in the fall of 2021 featured Mines sweeping Seattle Pacific and Midwestern State on day one. Saturday featured a five-set win over Grand Valley State and a sweep at the hands of Southwest Minnesota State.
 
NASTY NON-CONFERENCE
The Orediggers' non-conference schedule for the 2022 season features a gauntlet of preseason nationally-ranked teams and NCAA-qualifiers from the 2021 campaign. First up is Northern State on Friday in Golden which is receiving votes in the AVCA's preseason national poll. Saturday at Lockridge Arena features #22-ranked Southwest Minnesota State and #19-ranked UT Tyler, the latter of which appeared in the 2021 NCAA tournament. Mines' trip to the Hillsdale Charger "Net Results" Invitational in Michigan features #20 Ferris State, #18 Gannon and #16 Hillsdale. Gannon and Hillsdale both advanced to the 2021 NCAA Division II Quarterfinals in Tampa, Fla., with Gannon running all the way to the national semifinals. Ferris State's 2021 run went all the way to the regional final round where the bulldogs lost in four sets to Hillsdale.
 
AT THE HELM
Head Coach Jamie Magalei enters 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 318-102 (.757). Prior to the 2021 season, Magalei's then .749 career winning percentage ranked #21 among active coaches in NCAA Division II. It also ranked #21 among NCAA Division II coaches all-time. Her 318 wins rank second among active RMAC coaches. Last season, Magalei became only the sixth head volleyball coach to earn 300 wins while coaching in the RMAC. The others on that list include Colorado Mesa's Rusty Crick and Dave Fleming along with Regis' Frank Lavrisha, MSU Denver's Debbie Hendricks and Rick Squires of former RMAC member, Nebraska-Kearney which now plays in the MIAA. Squires and Fleming are the only active coaches in that group. Through 2021, Magalei has overseen 28 All-American selections, three Academic All-Americans, and 59 all-conference honorees along with one National Freshman of the Year, three Regional Players of the Year, two Regional Freshmen of the Year, and 15 RMAC Major award winners while guiding Mines to six RMAC regular-season titles and five RMAC Tournament trophies with 12 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Magalei has guided the Orediggers to either a RMAC regular-season or tournament title every season since 2012 including a sweep of both in 2015. 
 
VETERAN CORPS
Despite graduating seven seniors including four offensive starters, Mines still returns a star-studded corps of veterans. Topping the list is setter Drew Stokes and libero Elle Duis. Stokes earned 2021 RMAC Setter of the Year along with AVCA Second-Team All-America. Duis was First-Team All-RMAC and AVCA Honorable Mention All-America, but more on those two Orediggers later. Two other key returners will be key in fueling Mines' offense. Outside hitters Rose Stuewe and Megan Neil look to lead the way. Stuewe was Second-Team All-RMAC and RMAC All-Tournament in 2021. Neil, nearly single-handedly, guided the Orediggers to their RMAC tournament championship win over then #1-ranked MSU Denver thanks to 12 kills on 24 attempts with zero errors to hit .500 while adding one ace, one block, one dig and one assist off the bench.
 
STOKES SETS
Not only has Drew Stokes been the best setter in the RMAC in three of her four years on the court, she has been one of the best in the nation and one of the best to wear an Oredigger uniform. In 2021, the Murphysboro, Ill., native ranked #2 in NCAA Division II in assists per set at 11.84 and #10 in total assists. By the end of the season she ranked #3 among all active players in the NCAA in career assists per set. At that same point, Stokes also ranked #2 among active players in DII in career assists per set and #4 in total career assists. In the history of the Mines volleyball program, Stokes ranks #2 in all-time assists trailing only Danielle Johnson-Hazlewood (2012-15). She owns three of the top six all-time, single-season assists totals. She is one of four three-time AVCA All-Americans in program history. The other three on that list are Johnson-Hazlewood, Alanna Winfield and Abby Tiesman. Stokes' name is listed 17 times in the program record book in less than four complete seasons.
 
DUIS DIGS
Elle Duis has established herself as one of the premier liberos in NCAA Division II over the last four years, posting all-conference, all-region and all-America digs numbers on one of the most efficient offenses in the nation. In 2021 alone, Duis ranked #2 in the RMAC in total digs and digs-per-set on the #1-ranked hitting offense in DII, meaning she had less opportunities to record a dig than any other libero in the country. The Texan's 1,783 career digs rank #4 in Mines history and sat #22 among active career leaders in NCAA Division II as of the end of the 2021 season. She is a four-time All-RMAC selection including back-to-back, first-team nods in 2020 and 2021. Duis also earned AVCA Honorable Mention All-Region and AVCA Honorable Mention All-America in 2021. Not to be forgotten are the 97 service aces in her career which rank #8 on Mines' all-time list. The graduate student appears 11 times in the Oredigger volleyball record book.
 
FRESH FACES
Coach Magalei added six true freshmen as part of her 2021-22 signing class to go along with nine returning letter winners. Making up the incoming class are Meghan Slaninka (Fishers, Ind.), Hailey Aigner (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Morgan McChesney (Arvada, Colo.), Jada Price (Argyle, Texas), Kate Kudlac (Roswell, Ga.), and Allison Jansen (Chesterfield, Mo.). Three of the newcomers are middle blockers and the other three are defensive specialists.
 
IN THE POLLS
Mines appeared in a tie for #2 in the RMAC Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll while checking in at #11 in the American Volleyball Coaches' Association Division II Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Orediggers tied with Colorado Mesa on the conference list as MSU Denver was projected to defend its regular-season title. On the national list, Mines trailed #4 MSU Denver while Colorado Mesa and Regis both received votes. Also appearing in the preseason national rankings were 2022 non-conference opponents #16 Hillsdale, #18 Gannon, #19 UT Tyler, #20 Ferris State and #22 Southwest Minnesota State.

STANDING IN THE HALL OF FAME
On October 8, as part of Colorado School of Mines Homecoming Weekend, Oredigger volleyball alum Jackie Stabell will be inducted into the Mines Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the 2022 class at the Mines Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet and Auction. 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. Mines Athletics Auction & Hall of Fame Dinner is set for the night of October 8 with doors opening at 6 p.m. Tickets and more information can be found at www.minesathletics.com/auction.

UP NEXT
The Orediggers next action will be Sept. 2-3 at the Hillsdale Charger "Net Results" Invitational in Michigan. Live stats and pay-per-view video will be linked 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.