#23 Mines (10-4, 5-1 RMAC) at Adams State (4-10, 1-5 RMAC) – Alamosa, Colo. – Friday, 7 p.m. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
#23 Mines (10-4, 5-1 RMAC) at New Mexico Highlands (3-11, 0-6 RMAC) – Las Vegas, N.M. – Saturday, 3 p.m. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST
Another road trip is on tap for the #23 Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team. This weekend, the Oredigger head south and west to Adams State and New Mexico Highlands. Mines faces ASU in Alamosa, Colo., on Friday night at 7 p.m. before taking on NMHU at 3 p.m. on Saturday in Las Vegas, N.M. Five straight wins are on the line for the Orediggers who will look to make it seven consecutive victories and stay near the top of the RMAC standings.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
All remaining matches for Oredigger volleyball in 2022 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.
 
RECAPPING LAST WEEK
Mines hosted Western Colorado and Fort Lewis last Friday and Saturday. The Orediggers downed the Mountaineers in four sets. Rose Stuewe posted 16 kills, Madison Glassco had 13 on .478 hitting and Shannon Perna had an 11-kill, 10-dig double-double. Drew Stokes finished with 48 assists and seven digs. Elle Duis went over 2,000 digs for her career thanks to 21 on Friday night. Saturday saw Mines sweep Fort Lewis for the first time since 2019. Perna led all players with 15 kills and .483 hitting. Duis had 20 more digs and Morgan McChesney tallied five total blocks. The two wins pushed Mines ahead in both all-time series.
 
SCOUTING ADAMS STATE
Under 16th-year head coach Lindy Mortensen, Adams State volleyball continues to prove dangerous on the court despite a losing record. The Grizzlies sit 4-10 overall and 1-5 in RMAC play just over halfway through the season. Three non-conference wins came against St. Mary's, Southwestern Oklahoma State and Lubbock Christian. Two of the three were sweeps. Adams State's lone conference win was a 3-1 victory at Chadron State. The Grizzlies enter the weekend on a four-match skid which includes two five-set thrillers with the latest coming at CSU Pueblo. As a team, ASU hits .177 on the attack while the opposition converts and just .214. Individually, Cindy Garcia leads the team with a .268 percentage on the attack and ranks second with 154 kills, just two behind team leader Riley Rabedeaux. Garcia also boasts 33 blocks in 51 sets. Madeleine Benally is the setter and owns 454 assists. Aileen Bugas is the libero and has 184 digs.
 
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS
New Mexico Highlands enters the weekend with an overall record of 3-11 and a RMAC mark of 0-6. The Cowgirls host Chadron State on Friday night before welcoming Mines to town Saturday. Their three wins were a five-setter over East Central, a four-setter against University of Mary and another five-setter against Arkansas-Monticello. The current losing streak for NMHU is six including three straight sweeps at the hands of Colorado Mesa, CSU Pueblo and UCCS. The Cowgirls hit .137 as a team while limiting their opponents to .177 on the attack. Jontara West and Terayah Stukes have combined for 243 kills. Keegan Lopez leads NMHU's fulltime hitters with a .235 hitting percentage. Gandara Soleil owns 427 assists and Elena Rivera touts 217 digs at a clip of 4.34 digs per set. Also notable are 31 blocks apiece for Layla Hooks and Lopez. New Mexico Highlands' last win over a conference opponent was Senior Day of 2021 against Fort Lewis.
 
OREDIGGERS AGAINST THE GRIZZLIES
Mines trails its all-time series against Adams State by a margin of 33-34. However, the Orediggers own an active win streak of 12 over the Grizzlies with the last four coming in straight sets. Mines and ASU last met on Oct. 8, 2021, in Golden. In three sets, Taylor Hicken racked up 12 kills on .667 hitting. Fellow middle blocker Julia Eiken had 11 kills on .600 hitting, Amanda Donais notched 10 kills. Drew Stokes pushed out 40 assists and Elle Duis produced 17 digs. The Orediggers have not lost to the Grizzlies since Nov. 22, 2013. Mines has not lost to Adams State in Alamosa since Sept. 16, 2011. The last time ASU took a set off the Orediggers was Nov. 14, 2017, at Lockridge Arena.
 
OREDIGGERS AGAINST THE COWGIRLS
Mines owns a narrow, 33-28 lead in the rivalry with New Mexico Highlands. The Orediggers earned that all-time series lead thanks to 14 straight wins over the Cowgirls. Included in the active winning streak are three sweeps in the last three meetings. Most recently, Mines down NMHU in Golden on Oct. 9, 2021. Julia Eiken, Taylor Hicken and Rose Stuewe had 12 kills apiece with all three hitting well over .400. Drew Stokes ended with 41 assists, and Elle Duis led the way on 10 digs. The Orediggers haven't lost to the Cowgirls since Oct. 1, 2004. The last time NMHU took a set off of Mines was Sept. 15, 2017, in Golden.
 
CALL HER MISS 2K
Last Friday against Western Colorado, Elle Duis put up 21 digs which made her the first Oredigger to ever reach 2,000 digs in a career. She had already become the program's all-time digs leader earlier this season at Regis, moving past Taryn Huber and her 1,933 from 2013-17. The Texan now ranks #2 in the RMAC in total digs and digs per set this season. She also ranks #3 in total digs among active career leaders in NCAA Division II.
 
RMAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Elle Duis finished last weekend with 41 digs across seven sets. Those numbers and her 2,000-dig milestone netted the graduate student RMAC Defensive Player of the Week. Teammate and fellow graduate student Drew Stokes was named RMAC Setter of the Week thanks to 89 assists (12.71 assists per set), five kills, .385 hitting, 13 digs, three service aces and two blocks. It marked Duis' second such award of the season and fourth of her career. For Stokes, it was season award #3 and the 21st of her career.
 
COUNTDOWN TO #1
Drew Stokes continues her path towards toppling Danielle Johnson-Hazlewood's all-time assists record. After her 89 combined assists against Western Colorado and Fort Lewis, Stokes moved over 600 assists for the season and touts 5,375 for her career.  That puts the Illinois native just 143 assists away from breaking the program record. For the season, Stokes ranks #1 in the RMAC in total assists and assists for the set. Her national ranking in those same categories are #2 and #13, respectively. Across all divisions of the NCAA, Stokes' 5,375 career assists rank #3 among active career leaders – that includes DI, DII and DIII – and her 11.89 career assists per set rank #1. The Murphysboro High School product also owns 120 service aces in her career which rank #5 in program history and sit five off #4 and 26 shy of the all-time record.
 
LEADING THE NATION
Colorado School of Mines Volleyball currently ranks #1 in NCAA Division II in kills per set. The Orediggers average 15.20 per frame. With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that Mines also ranks #2 in DII in assists per set with a 14.32 average. All this from a team that led the nation in attack percentage in 2021.
 
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 328-106 (.755). 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.
 
STANDING IN THE HALL OF FAME
Oredigger volleyball alum Jackie Stabell is set to 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 on Oct. 8. 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
Mines is back home next weekend for Homecoming 2022. The Orediggers will host Colorado Christian and #2 MSU Denver inside Volk Gym on Friday and Saturday. Tickets can be purchased online at www.minesathletics.com/tickets. Live coverage will also 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.