Mines (9-15, 5-7 RMAC) at Fort Lewis (9-15, 5-7 RMAC) – Durango, Colo. – Friday, 6 p.m. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
Mines (9-15, 5-7 RMAC) at Western Colorado (11-14, 6-6 RMAC) – Gunnison, Colo. – Saturday, 4 p.m. [Live Stats] [Live Video]

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NOW'S THE TIME
The final weekend of the regular season has arrived for the Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team, and a berth in the postseason is on the line. The Orediggers are currently on the outside looking in at the 2024 RMAC Volleyball Tournament bracket, but a pair of wins on the road could change all of that. Mines will start its charge at Fort Lewis on Friday at 6 p.m. A match at Western Colorado on Saturday at 4 p.m. brings a close to the regular season and will cement the bracket for the league tournament.
 
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.
 
POSTSEASON OUTLOOK
MSU Denver, Colorado Mesa, South Dakota Mines, CSU Pueblo, Regis, and Colorado Christian have all clinched spots in the 2024 RMAC Volleyball Tournament. That leaves two spots to fill in the eight-team bracket. Mines, at 5-7 in league play, is currently tied for ninth in the conference standings. Adams State and Fort Lewis are the other 5-7 teams. Just ahead of the Orediggers are Western Colorado and Westminster, both at 6-6. The author fully acknowledges there are numerous scenarios and tiebreakers that COULD come into to play. However, Mines' most simple route into the postseason is a pair of wins and at least one loss for Adams State. In that scenario, the Orediggers would have the head-to-head tiebreaker with any other team at 7-7. However, if Mines wins both and ASU goes 2-0, then things get messy and it will be up to the conference office to sort it out.
 
CHASING 1,000
Oredigger redshirt senior Hannah Kinnison is on the brink of a huge milestone. With two matches to play in the regular season, she touts 997 career kills. That number includes 90 kills in two seasons at the University of San Francisco, 637 kills across two seasons at Angelo State, and then 270 kills in her lone season with Mines. Three kills at any point across the two matches this weekend will give her the four-digit milestone. The last Oredigger to surpass 1,000 career kills was Rose Stuewe in 2023.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Snow impacted Mines' schedule last weekend, but the Orediggers still played both matches in a reasonable time frame. Friday's contest at Regis was moved to Monday evening. That meant Mines started its road trip at UCCS on Friday at 7 p.m. The Orediggers prevailed over the Mountain Lions, 3-1, despite a 25-9 margin in the second set. Hannah Kinnison led the way with a 14-kill, 17-dig double-double and three total blocks. Allison Jansen added nine kills and four service aces. On Monday evening, Mines found itself trailing two sets to none in Denver. Then, Presley Powell came off the bench and nearly orchestrated a reverse sweep of the Rangers. Unfortunately for the visitors, the decisive fifth set went to RU by a score of 15-11. Kate Kudlac was Monday's kills leader with 14. Kinnison put up another double-double with 11 kills and 13 digs while adding three more blocks. Also notable were Olivia Murillo's 15 digs.
 
FIRST TIME SINCE…
When Mines hosted CSU Pueblo on Oct. 25, there were two notable team accomplishment in the win. 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.
 
SENIOR TRIO
Mines recognized its three seniors on the 2024 roster late last month. 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 997 kills, 728 digs, 160 blocks, 66 assists, and 28 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 283 assists, 82 digs, 18 blocks, 10 kills, and three aces in nine matches of action. She leads the team in assists per set.
 
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Throughout the 2024 campaign, 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 197 kills and 49 total blocks. McLaughlin boasts 126 kills and 67 total blocks. In the back row, Avery Perreira and Olivia Murillo have combined for 385 digs. That duo also boasts a total of 27 service aces. Furthermore, Brinleigh Davis saw significant time at setter early in the season 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.
 
SCOUTING FORT LEWIS
Fort Lewis is 9-15 (5-7 RMAC). The Skyhawks are on a three-match skid after losses to Adams State and UCCS in the RMAC Power Pod, and a five-set heartbreaker last Saturday at CSU Pueblo. Fort Lewis, like Mines, is also fighting for its postseason life and needs at least one win this weekend – if not two – to get into the league tournament. Alina Nunez leads FLC with 213 kills, and Alex Hobie averages 2.88 kills per set. Natalia Lambos is the setter and pushes out 9.46 assists per set. Ella Butler boasts 51 blocks, Emery Pomroy has 268 digs, and Maddy Shumway touts 27 service aces.
 
OREDIGGERS AGAINST THE SKYHAWKS
Mines leads the all-time series with Fort Lewis, 37-35. That mark includes an active 21-match win streak for the Orediggers. Last season, Mines swept FLC in Golden. Presley Powell put up 44 assists, eight digs, and two total blocks in that match. Jada Price produced 10 digs and Meghan Slaninka posted 11 digs. The Orediggers also swept the Skyhawks in Golden in 2022. Mines hasn't played Fort Lewis in Durango, Colo., since 2021. It was a 3-1 win for the visitors. The last time Fort Lewis defeated the Orediggers was Sept. 29, 2007, in Golden, Colo. Mines hasn't lost to the Skyhawks in Durango since 2005.
 
SCOUTING WESTERN COLORADO
Western Colorado enters the weekend 11-14 (6-6 RMAC), and host #5 MSU Denver on Friday before welcoming Mines to town on Saturday for Senior Night. An 0-6 start to the season put WCU in an early hole. However, a 5-1 start to conference play turned the Mountaineers' season around. They control their own destiny when it comes to the RMAC tournament. Most recently, Western Colorado fell in three sets at Adams State on Nov. 7 and lost in four sets at CSU Pueblo on Nov. 8. Seyun Park leads the team in total kills at 283 while hitting .271. Nur Turkmenoglu averages 9.80 assists per set and owns 28 service aces as well. Just ahead of her is Olive Rolseth with 30 service aces. On defense, Kyra Kidd's 71 blocks and Chinaru Inoue's 424 digs are tops on the team.
 
MINES AGAINST THE MOUNTAINEERS
Mines is 39-36 in the all-time series against Western Colorado. The Orediggers enter the weekend and regular-season finale riding a 12-match win streak against the Mountaineers. Last season, Mines closed its campaign with a 3-0 win against WCU at Lockridge Arena. Allison Jansen's 13 kills on .722 hitting were the highlight on the Orediggers' Senior Night. Also notable were 44 assists, 10 digs, three aces, and three blocks from Presley Powell. The last time Western Colorado took a match off Mines was Sept. 25, 2015, in Gunnison. It was a 3-1 loss for the Orediggers. Prior to that, Mines hadn't lost to WCU since 2007.
 
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 363-137 (.726). 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?
Mines volleyball has not posted a sub-.500 conference record since 2007. Two wins over the weekend will keep that 17-year streak alive.
 
UP NEXT
The results of the weekend determine what's next for the Orediggers. A pair of wins likely extends Mines' season and puts them in the RMAC quarterfinals on Tuesday, Nov. 19. Failure to qualify for the conference tournament will bring the Orediggers' 2024 campaign to a close.
 
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.