Sept. 8-9 – The Cougar Classic – San Marcos, Calif. – Tournament Central
Mines (2-2) vs. St. Edward's (1-3) – Friday, 9 a.m. (PT) [Live Stats] [CCAA Network-PPV]
Mines (2-2) vs. Concordia Irvine (3-1) – Friday, 3 p.m. (PT) [Live Stats] [CCAA Network-PPV]
Mines (2-2) vs. RV Seattle Pacific (2-2) – Saturday, 3 p.m. (PT) [Live Stats] [CCAA Network-PPV]
Mines (2-2) at Cal State San Marcos (0-4) – Saturday, 5 p.m. (PT) [Live Stats] [CCAA Network-PPV]

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CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'
The Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team is headed to California this weekend for The Cougar Classic hosted by Cal State San Marcos. It's the second invite-style event in as many weeks for the Orediggers. They will take on St. Edward's on Friday at 9 a.m. (PT) with Concorida Irvine serving as the "night" cap at 3 p.m. (PT). Saturday's slate starts late for Mines. The first match of the second day is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. (PT) against Seattle Pacific. A showdown with the host CSUSM at 5 p.m. (PT) will close the Orediggers' trip to the West Coast.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
All four of Mines' matches will have pay-per-view video offered on the CCAA Network. Fans planning to watch will have to create an account and purchase access to watch the Orediggers. There will also be free live stats linked above and at www.minesathletics.com.
 
TICKET INFORMATION
Anyone planning to attend this weekend's matches in person can purchase single-day tickets online at www.csumcougars.com/tickets. Admission for a single day is $15 or $12 for seniors and military members. Tournament passes can be purchased only at the ticket office. Those run $25 or $20 for seniors and military members.
 
LOOKING BACK
Mines volleyball opened its 2023 season last weekend by hosting the 18th Annual Oredigger Volleyball Classic. The home team finished the weekend 2-2 thanks to a pair of four-set wins on Friday followed by two 3-0 losses on Saturday. Mines started the season 1-0 after downing Fort Hays State in four sets. Rose Stuewe led the attack with 18 kills on .484 hitting. Morgan McChesney put down five total blocks. Presley Powell dished out 64 assists. The Orediggers moved to 2-0 with a four-set win against Pittsburg to close the day. The trio of Stuewe, Emily Knight, and Madison Glassco combined for 42 kills. Presley Powell notched 44 more assists while adding 12 digs for her second double-double of the day. Narrow set losses drove Mines' results on day two of the tournament. Four of the six games the Orediggers lost to San Francisco State and Findlay came by three points or less. McChesney finished the day with 10 kills on .474 hitting while adding six total blocks. Stuewe totaled 17 kills. Allison Janses had 11 kills on .417 hitting. Also notable were 4.67 digs per set from Jada Price and 61 assists from Powell.
 
ALL-TOURNAMENT TRIO
Thanks to their individual efforts last weekend, Rose Stuewe, Presley Powell, and Jada Price were all named to the Oredigger Volleyball Classic All-Tournament team. Stuewe's nod came on the merits of 50 kills across 14 sets (3.56 kills per set) while hitting .277 on the outside. She also had seven total blocks. Powell earned the honor after an outstanding performance at setter in her first collegiate matches. The Texan averaged 12.07 assists per set and added 32 digs with six total blocks, four service aces, and one kills. In total, Powell had two double-doubles on the weekend. Price rounded out the trio as Mines' new starting libero. She racked up 62 digs at a clip of 4.43 digs per set which ranked second across the entire eight-team field.
 
COUNTDOWN TO 1,000
Oredigger graduate student Rose Stuewe is playing her final collegiate season of volleyball, and the outside hitter is quickly approaching a significant milestone. After 50 kills last weekend, Stuewe sits just 26 kills shy of 1,000 for her career. She's also 292 kills shy of cracking into Mines' career top-10 list. Kaity Edmiston (2006-09) currently sits #9 at 1,266 kills for her career. During Stuewe's time in Golden, she has averaged 2.86 kills per set with an average over 3.5 kills per set during 2022 and 2023. At that rate, she should easily eclipse the 1,000-kill milestone this weekend in California.
 
TOP-10 PERFORMANCE
True freshman setter Presley Powell arrived in Golden, Colo., this fall by way of Katy, Texas, and Tompkins High School. Her task was to take over for Mines' all-time assists leader Drew Stokes. After four matches of collegiate volleyball, Powell has proven up to the task. In fact, it took just one match to write her name in the program record book. In the 2023 opener against Fort Hays State, Powell dished out 64 assists in four sets. That performance tied her for #7 on Mines' all-time, single-game assists list. The only other Orediggers with more assists in a single match in the history of Mines volleyball are Jamie Jones, Spring Rutledge, Danielle Johnson-Hazlewood, Amanda Massey, and Drew Stokes. Powell matched Emily Collett and Danielle Johnson-Hazlewood at 64. For reference, Stokes' first four matches as an Oredigger included 189 assists and 21 digs. Powell put up 169 assists and 32 digs.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
Mines volleyball started the season ranked #22 in the nation according to the American Volleyball Coaches' Association preseason poll. The Orediggers' 2-2 start dropped them out of the top-25, but they're still receiving votes in week one of the national rankings. With 56 votes, Mines volleyball is currently the equivalent of #30 in NCAA Division II. Defending national champion West Texas A&M remained #1. Additional RMAC teams on the list include #6 MSU Denver, #14 Colorado Mesa, and #19 Regis.
 
SCOUTING ST. EDWARD'S
St. Edward's. which plays in the Lone Star Conference and is a fellow member of the NCAA South Central Region, started its season at the UT Tyler Invitational The Hilltoppers went 1-3 with three straight losses to Harding, Fort Lewis, and Southern Nazarene. They closed their weekend by sweeping Montevallo. Through four matches, freshman Landry Baughman leads SEU with 37 kills. Fellow freshman Cora Young is hitting .405. Within St. Edward's 6-2 system, freshman Jaiden LaVanway, senior Natalia Walls, and sophomore Jordan Chapman all contributed significantly at setter. Also notable are 109 digs at 6.81 digs per set from senior Sarah Konovodoff. The Hilltoppers finished the 2022 season 9-18 overall while going 6-10 in conference play. They are now under the leadership of first-year head coach Jared Te'o.
 
MINES AGAINST THE HILLTOPPERS
Oredigger volleyball holds a 1-1 record in the all-time series against St. Edward's. The two teams first met at the Oredigger Classic in 2005. Mines won that match in straight sets. In the only other meeting between the Orediggers and SEU, Mines lost a five-set heartbreaker in Austin, Texas on Sept. 4, 2009. That marks the only two times the Orediggers and Hilltoppers have met on the volleyball court making Friday an early rubber match in the all-time series.
 
SCOUTING CONCORDIA IRVINE
The Concordia Irvine Golden Eagles hosted their own tournament to start the 2023 season, and they found relative success with a 3-1 record. Their first match of the year was a 3-1 victory against Cal State Dominguez Hills. Concordia Irvine's only loss so far came last Friday against #4-ranked Wayne State (Neb.) in straight sets. On Saturday, the Golden Eagles dropped Cal State East Bay in five sets and knocked off UCCS in four sets. Senior outside hitter Kirra Schulz was the star of the offense, racking up 59 kills while hitting .220 on the pin. She also added nine service aces. Junior right side Kennedy Farley added 46 kills and eight aces as well. The previously mentioned duo led their team in digs with 108 between the two. Also notable were 20 total blocks by sophomore middle Halli Hooks. In 2022, CUI was 17-10 overall while going 14-6 in PacWest action.
 
MINES AGAINST THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Friday will be the first-ever meeting between Oredigger volleyball and Concordia Irvine.
 
SCOUTING SEATTLE PACIFIC
This weekend marks Seattle Pacific's second straight trip to Southern California. Last weekend, the Falcons went 2-2 at the Seaside Invitational including a match inside Cal State San Marcos' gym, and a neutral-site showdown with the Cougars. Seattle Pacific started by sweeping Lewis before falling in three games to Point Loma. On Saturday, SPU fell in four sets to Biola before sweeping CSUSM. Senior pin-hitter Sarah Brachvogel provided her team 42 kills while hitting .277. Senior middle Allison Wilks hit .533 and had 26 kills. Wilks and Erin Smith notched 15 blocks apiece. Abigail Cunningham notched 44 digs and the setting duties were split. In 2022, Seattle Pacific was 13-13 overall while going 11-7 in GNAC play.
 
MINES AGAINST THE FALCONS
The Oredigger volleyball team has twice played Seattle Pacific. Most recently, the Falcons came to Golden for the 2021 Oredigger Classic and dropped a 3-0 contest to the Orediggers. In that match, Rose Stuewe had six kills while hitting .500. The inaugural meeting in the all-time series was on Sept. 26, 1991, also in Golden, Colo. Seattle Pacific swept the Orediggers giving Mines an all-time record of 1-1 against SPU.
 
SCOUTING CAL STATE SAN MARCOS
The hosting Cougars of Cal State San Marcos had a tough opening weekend, going 0-4 against Biola, Lewis, Seattle Pacific, and Point Loma. Besides a five-setter against Biola, CSUSM lost all of its matches in straight sets. That being said, both Lewis and Seattle Pacific were receiving votes in the national poll. As of Wednesday, redshirt senior Trinity Barr and redshirt junior Sofia Hedqvist lead the Cougar offense with 37 kills apiece. No player on the team is hitting over .280. Redshirt junior setter Tori Goff touts nine service aces and 104 assists. Mia Christensen and Goff have combined for 64 digs. In 2022, Cal State San Marcos went 8-17 overall with a mark of 7-11 in CCAA action.
 
MINES AGAINST THE COUGARS
Saturday's weekend finale will mark the first-ever meeting on the volleyball court between the Orediggers and Cal State San Marcos.
 
SHE'S THE BOSS
Head Coach Jamie Magalei enters her 16th season leading the Mines volleyball program in 2023. She is easily the program's all-time leader in total wins and win percentage at 342-112 (.753). As of Aug. 30, 2023, her winning percentage ranks inside the top-20 among active coaches in NCAA Division II, and her total wins are top-50 in the same category. Additionally, her current winning percentage is top-25 all-time in DII. Magalei surpassed 300 career wins in 2021. She's one of six to reach the milestone while coaching in the RMAC. Through 2022, Magalei has coached 31 all-America selections, three Academic All-Americans, and 63 all-conference performers. Her resume also includes three Regional Players of the Year, two Regional Freshmen of the Year, and 16 RMAC major award winners. Magalei has guided Mines to six RMAC regular-season championships, and five RMAC Tournament titles with 13 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances. The North Dakota native also guided the Orediggers to either a conference regular-season or tournament title every season from 2012-21 including a sweep of both in 2015.
 
THE 2023 SCHEDULE
The trip to California marks Mines' last tournament before turning its focus to opposition from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Orediggers begin RMAC play at home on Friday, Sept. 15, against Chadron State and Colorado Christian comes to Golden on Saturday, Sept. 16. Additional home RMAC matches include New Mexico Highlands, #18 Regis, UCCS, Fort Lewis, and Western Colorado. New to the 2023 schedule are a set of pods including a Regional Pod and a Power Pod. That gives the Orediggers non-RMAC matches against #3 MSU Denver, Colorado Christian, and CSU Pueblo. The first two will be played in Lakewood on Sept. 29-30. A third showdown against CCU and the CSU Pueblo match will be inside Lockridge rena on Oct. 26 and Oct. 28.
 
PRESEASON POLL
The RMAC Preseason Coaches' poll was released in the middle of August. It featured Mines at #4. MSU Denver was picked to repeat as conference champion. Regis checked in at #2 with one first-place vote. Colorado Mesa was #3 with another first-place vote. CSU Pueblo, Colorado Christian, UCCS, and South Dakota Mines rounded out the projected RMAC Tournament field.
 
FEELING 22
Thanks to the leadership of Coach Magalei and the outstanding performance from numerous signing classes, Mines has posted 10 consecutive 20-win seasons. That does not include the spring of 2021 which only featured 15 total matches. In fact, the Orediggers' lowest win total since 2012 was 22 in 2022. Since taking over in 2008, Magalei's teams have won at least 19 matches in every full-length season.
 
UP NEXT
Upon returning from California, Mines will begin conference play at home with a RMAC showdown against Chadron State on Friday, Sept. 15, at 7 p.m. inside Lockridge Arena. Tickets for the match can be purchased at www.minesathletics.com/tickets. Free live video on the RMAC Network and free live stats 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.