Mines (7-13, 4-6 RMAC) at Colorado Christian (12-8, 6-4 RMAC) – Lakewood, Colo. – Thursday, 5 p.m. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
Mines (7-13, 4-6 RMAC) vs. Westminster (9-10, 5-5 RMAC) – Lakewood, Colo. – Friday, 7 p.m. [Live Stats] [Live Video]

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POWER POD!
This week marks the arrival of the second annual Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Volleyball Power Pod. The matchups across the conference are determined by last season's final standings. Colorado School of Mines gets Colorado Christian on Thursday at 5 p.m. and Westminster on Friday at 7 p.m. Both matches will be played at the CCU Event Center in Lakewood with CCU and WU closing pod action on Saturday at 5 p.m. Neither result counts towards the league standings, but some results around the RMAC could benefit teams in regards to NCAA tournament qualification and/or seeding.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Both matches will be streamed live and for free on the RMAC Network at www.minesathletics.com/tv. There will also be free live stats for each match linked on the Orediggers' schedule page at www.minesathletics.com.
 
LOOKING BACK
Mines closed the home portion of its 2024 slate over the weekend. The Orediggers hosted CSU Pueblo on Friday and Adams State on Saturday. The home finales started with a 3-1 win over the ThunderWolves. It was also a Parent Night victory in which Hannah Kinnison posted 20 kills on .529 hitting with seven digs and five blocks. Morgan McChesney added nine total blocks and six kills. Allison Jansen had six kills on .333 hitting and five total blocks. Jansen also churned out four service aces while Avery Perreira had three Saturday brought a heartbreaking Senior Night loss to ASU. The Grizzlies managed the Orediggers in three sets despite six more blocks from Jansen, five by Kinnison and eight kills from Kudlac. Jada Price contributed 10 digs.
 
FIRST TIME SINCE…
Friday's match against CSU Pueblo provided two notable team accomplishments. The Orediggers' 16 blocks were the most in a match in over decade. Game-by-game records available go back to 2013 and no Mines team matched or bested the 16 blocks in a match. Contributing to the milestone were Morgan McChesney (9), Hannah Kinnison (5), Allison Jansen (5), Taylor Helms (4), Hope Storm (2). Fans should note that player total blocks combined solo and assisted blocks. Overall, for Mines, there were 22 assisted blocks and five solo blocks. The other notable accomplishment was 10 service aces. That marked the most service aces in a single match since the fall of 2021. Jansen notched four, Avery Perreira had three, Storm notched one, Jada Price had one, and Olivia Murillo knocked one out as well.
 
BRINGING THE BLOCK
The last two matches saw Mines total 28 blocks with 12 more stuffs against Adams State. It brings the Orediggers' defensive prowess at the net back to the forefront. While historically relying on a highly-efficient offense, Mines has brought the block in earnest in 2024. The Orediggers rank third in the RMAC in total blocks (165.0) and blocks per set (2.17). Regis and #1 MSU Denver are the only teams with more blocks than Mines. Individually, Jenna McLaughlin is the host of the block party. She owns 60.0 total blocks at a clip just under one block per set. The trio of Morgan McChesney, Taylor Helms, and Hannah Kinnison have provided just over 40 blocks apiece through 20 matches. Also notable are Allison Jansen and Ava Swan. Jansen's 33 total blocks have come in just 35 sets compared to more than 70 sets by the team leaders. Swan, a true freshmen, had churned out 11 total blocks in 11 sets of action for a 1.0 block-per-set average.
 
POSTSEASON OUTLOOK
With a record of 7-13 (4-6 RMAC), the Orediggers are certainly down, but they aren't out. Their conference record is currently tied for #10 on the league table. The top eight teams in the conference standings at the end of the regular season advance to the RMAC Volleyball Tournament. Since the RMAC Power Pod does not count toward teams' conference records, Mines has just four more chances to improve its league standing. Those four matches are against #4 Regis, t#10 UCCS, #9 Fort Lewis, and #7 Western Colorado. Since 2016, when the RMAC did away with divisions, teams have advanced to the conference tournament with a .500, or worse, record in conference play seven out of eight seasons. Five of those seasons saw teams with a losing conference record slip into the postseason. Last year, the Orediggers were 7-7 in league play and just missed making the tournament on tiebreakers. Now, wit ha 4-6 record, history would dictate that Mines needs to win at least three of its final four RMAC matches to secure a postseason berth.
 
SENIOR TRIO
After Saturday's match against Adams State, Mines recognized its three seniors on the 2024 roster. Hannah Kinnison, Emma Smithey, and Hope Storm all took center stage (or court if you will) with each boasting vastly different paths to their final season of collegiate volleyball. Kinnison's career to date includes stops at the University of San Francisco and Angelo State. She's produced 952 kills, 673 digs, 150 blocks, 59 assists, and 27 aces. Smithey, in her fourth year with the Orediggers, owns 49 kills, 24 digs, nine blocks, and two assists. The best match of her career came against South Dakota Mines in 2022 when she had 11 kills, nine digs, and two blocks. Storm, also in her fourth year with the Orediggers, made her collegiate debut earlier this season and now owns 168 assists, 43 digs, 10 blocks, six kills, and one ace in five matches of action. She leads the team in assists per set.
 
YOUTH MOVEMENT
So far in 2024, Mines has used 17 Orediggers in match action. Of those 17 student-athletes, eight are true freshmen and nine had never played in a NCAA volleyball match prior to this season. Taylor Helms and Jenna McLaughlin are the foundation of the fountain of youth. Helms has 172 kills and 43 total blocks, both ranking second on the team. McLaughlin boasts 106 kills and 60 total blocks. In the back row, Avery Perreira and Olivia Murillo have combined for 298 digs. That duo also boasts a total of 22 service aces. Furthermore, Brinleigh Davis has seen significant time at setter and dished out 304 assists with 60 digs, 19 total blocks, nine kills and two aces. Additional contributions to the explosion of Oredigger youth have come from Ava Swan, Layla Padgett, and Emma Dunwoody.
 
NEW RULES
Collegiate volleyball implemented multiple changes to the rules for the 2024 season. Two of the changes will be most noticeable to fans. Teams are now allowed to designate two liberos for each set, if they so choose. Liberos are defensive players who play only in the back row, have rules against leaving the ground to attack, and substitute differently than other players. While teams can designate two liberos, only one of designees can be in the match at any given time. The change opens options for strategy in service and serve receive. The second notable change applies to the setters. Previously, setters, and other players, had to make sure both hands hit the ball at the same time or be called for a double touch (ball handling error). Now, the setter, and other players, can double touch as long as the set does not go over the net.
 
SCOUTING COLORADO CHRISTIAN
Colorado Christian is 12-8 (6-4 RMAC) going into the pod. The Cougars' conference mark has them tied for fifth in the standings. Last weekend, CCU went 1-1 on the road. Friday was a 3-1 win at Westminster. Saturday brought a straight-set loss at the hands of then #17 Colorado Mesa. Overall, Colorado Christian has beaten teams lower in the standings, but has failed to beat programs in the top third. As a team, the Cougars rank #15 in the nation in assists per set and #16 in kills per set. That's thanks to setter Izzy Jones who manages the offense by dishing out 10.75 assists per set. She also touts 31 kills on .280 hitting with 19 service aces, 185 digs, and 24 total blocks. Jones' favorite target is Abby Newell who boasts 203 kills (3.33 kps). Renee Phillips and her .353 attack percentage can't be ignored either. On defense, Shelby Hernandez averages 4.79 digs per set and Lilly Woods has 81 total blocks. Also notable is Krista Traynor who's fresh off a triple-double effort at Westminster.
 
OREDIGGERS AGAINST THE COUGARS
Mines and Colorado Christian have already played twice this season. The first was a RMAC contest in Lakewood which CCU won in four sets. The second was part of the RMAC Regional Pod at Mines. The Cougars won again in four sets. Despite the two losses, the Orediggers still hold a hefty, 43-26 advantage in the all-time series. Mines is 7-3 in its last 10 meetings with CCU. The Orediggers are 23-11 at home and 18-15 on the road when playing the Cougars.
 
SCOUTING WESTMINSTER
Westminster will face Mines on Friday with a record of 9-10 (5-5 RMAC). That puts the Griffins alone in eighth place in the conference standings. Their last action was a 1-1 weekend at home in Salt Lake City. It started with a four-set loss to Colorado Christian. A four-set win against Chadron State closed the weekend. Statistical leaders for Westminster include Claire Cook, Mailei Myers, Leila Cornejo, and Alanna Lee. Cook owns 218 kills. Myers is hitting .325 with 29 service aces and 66 total blocks. Cornejo has handed out 366 assists and Josie Gerritsen is right behind with 322 assists. Lee boasts 307 digs at 4.15 digs per set.
 
MINES AGAINST THE GRIFFINS
The Orediggers already played Westminster once this season. It was the start of Mines Homecoming and the home team used a reverse sweep to earn a five-set win against the Griffins. Hannah Kinnison's 19-kill, 18-dig double-double led the way. Jada Price pumped out 25 digs and two aces as well. Jenna McLaughlin and Presley Powell produced six total blocks and four total blocks, respectively. That victory moved the Orediggers to 11-1 in the all-time series with Westminster. Mines' only loss, ever, to the Griffins came last season in Salt Lake City in four sets. Otherwise, the Orediggers and WU have finished in three sets on six occasions, four sets on three occasions, and five sets twice.
 
AT THE HELM
Head Coach Jamie Magalei is in her 17th season leading the Mines volleyball program in 2024. She is easily the program's all-time leader in total wins and win percentage at 361-135 (.727). Entering the 2024 season, her winning percentage ranked inside the top-20 among active coaches in NCAA Division II, and her total wins were top-50 in the same category. Additionally, her winning percentage entering 2024 ranked 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 2023, Magalei has coached 31 all-America selections, three Academic All-Americans, and 65 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 from 2009-22 (no NCAA tournament in 2020). 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.
 
DID YOU KNOW?
Colorado Christian used to be known as Rockmont College. Before that, the institution was referred to as Denver Bible College. In fact, CCU was originally founded as the Denver Bible Institute in 1914. In order to become Colorado Christian University (CCU), Rockmont College merged with Western Bible College to create Colorado Christian College. Then, CCC merged with Colorado Baptist University in 1989 to form CCU. Did you care? Maybe not, but now you know.
 
UP NEXT
After the 2024 RMAC Power Pod, Mines travels to Regis on Friday, Nov. 8, and to UCCS on Saturday, Nov. 9. Free live video on the RMAC Network and live stats of both matches will be available at www.minesathletics.com.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines volleyball on "X" (formerly 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, "X" and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.