Mines (7-1, 0-0 RMAC) vs. #4 MSU Denver (7-1, 0-0 RMAC) – Lockridge Arena – Friday, 7 .m. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
Mines (7-1, 0-0 RMAC) at UCCS (8-0, 0-0 RMAC) – Colorado Springs, Colo. – Saturday, 3 p.m. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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BRING ON THE RMAC
Volleyball teams across the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) begin the league portion of their respective schedules this week, and that includes Colorado School of Mines. The Orediggers' RMAC slate begins with a bang as they host nationally-ranked MSU Denver on Friday at 7 p.m. before heading to unbeaten UCCS in Colorado Springs on Saturday for a 3 p.m. match. With a 7-1 record, Mines will look to build on its best start to season since the fall of 2021.
 
CALLING ALL MINES STUDENTS
Friday's match against the nationally-ranked Roadrunners will include multiple free promotions for students of Colorado School of Mines. The first 100 Mines students to arrive at the match will receive free pierogis from Pierogies Factory. There will also be prize drawings and giveaways for Mines students throughout the match.
 
TRAFFIC ADVISORY
Fans planning to attend Friday's match at Lockridge Arena should be aware of potentially heavy traffic in Golden that evening. Golden High School will be holding their homecoming parade beginning at 4 p.m. Road closures, including Washington Avenue go into effect beginning at 3:15 p.m. Those closures end at 5:30 p.m. All streets in Golden should be re-opened no later than 5:30 p.m., but congestion could remain and impact access to Lockridge Arena.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Both matches this weekend will stream on the RMAC Network (pay-per-view). Kienan Dixon has the call for Friday's home contest against #4 MSU Denver. There will also be free live stats on Friday and Saturday, linked above and at www.minesathletics.com.
 
RMAC NETWORK CHANGES
Beginning this fall the RMAC Network is moving to a pay-per-view model for all events. Fans can purchase monthly and annual subscriptions that will provide them access to all regular-season, championship, and archived broadcasts on the RMAC Network. A monthly subscription costs $25, and an annual subscription costs $130. Single-game passes are available for $10, which grants access to a single game for 24 hours. For technical support questions, fans can contact Hudl Support or email the RMAC directly (rmac@rmacsports.org). For further support, fans can visit the RMAC Network Help page.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Mines wrapped the non-conference portion of its schedule last weekend at the Hampton Inn Nighthawks Classic hosted by Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho. The Orediggers started with a 3-1 victory against Seattle Pacific on Thursday morning before falling to NNU in straight sets on Thursday night. Mines closed the trip strong by downing Concordia University Irvine, 3-1, on Friday and sweeping Westmont on Saturday. Jenna McLaughlin keyed the offense with 59 kills across 14 sets on .466 hitting. She bolstered her weekend resume with 13 total blocks as well. Abbie O'Shay, Francesca Nuzzo, and Jada Price anchored the defense. O'Shay knocked down 18 total blocks, Nuzzo added 12 total blocks and 53 digs, and Price put up 51 digs. Hailee Martinez coordinated at setter and finished averaging 10.14 assists per set with five service aces and 33 digs.
 
BACK-TO-BACK RMAC AWARDS
Hailee Martinez and Jenna McLaughlin won RMAC Setter of the Week and RMAC Defensive Player of the Week after opening weekend. This past Monday, the duo was honored again. Martinez won her second straight RMAC Setter of the Week award and McLaughlin was voted RMAC Offensive Player of the Week. Martinez' line, as referenced above, featured 142 assists at 10.14 assists per set along with 33 digs, five aces, and two total blocks. She remains ranked #1 in the RMAC in total assists and assists per set. The graduate student is also #11 in the nation in total assists. McLaughlin's award-winning weekend resulted in 59 kills at 4.21 kills per set while hitting .466 and adding 13 total blocks. She only committed five attack errors on 116 total attempts. Against CUI, the middle blocker put down 18 kills on 32 error-free attempts. She's top-10 in the RMAC in six different statistical categories.
 
STRONG START
The Orediggers went 4-0 at their own invite to start the 2025 campaign. That marked Mines' first 4-0 start since 2018. Now, at 7-1, Head Coach Jamie Magalei's squad is off to its best start to a season since the fall of 2021. That year saw the Orediggers roll out a 16-1 record before suffering a second loss. Eventually, Mines won the 2021 RMAC Tournament title and was selected to the NCAA tournament field.
 
UNBEATEN NO MORE
So far in 2025, Mines has handed five different teams their first loss of the season. The list of unbeaten teams the Orediggers have toppled include South Dakota Mines, Davenport, then-#14 Grand Valley State, Seattle Pacific, and Concordia University Irvine.
 
IN THE POLLS
The American Volleyball Coaches' Association (AVCA) put out its second regular-season edition of the AVAC/TARAFLEX Division II Women's Volleyball Poll earlier this week. Mines continued to receive votes. The Orediggers' 34 points make them the equivalent of #31 in the nation. Other notable teams on the list included #4 MSU Denver, #13 Grand Valley State, and #23 Colorado Mesa. Lynn held the #1 ranking for a second consecutive week.
 
MILESTONE UPDATE
Much has been made of Amanda Donais Dudley's return to Mines volleyball. For those just tuning in, the graduate student played for the Orediggers from 2018-21 and was an all-American as a senior. She finished her bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and graduated in the spring of 2022. However, Donais Dudley still had a year of college eligibility remaining due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So, when she decided to come back to Mines for a master's degree in mechanical engineering, she decided to play some more volleyball. Now, just eight matches into her encore, the Ramona, Calif., native is quickly approaching multiple career milestones. Donais Dudley currently touts 978 career kills, just 22 away from 1,000. She's also one ace shy of 100 career service aces. With seven more blocks, Donais Dudley will surpass 200 career blocks. Also notable are her 787 career digs. In order to reach 1,000 career digs, she'll need 213 more this season. That could be a tall task as her single-season best was 245 digs in 2018. Attainable, but will take some work. A couple other Oredigger milestones on the horizon are 1,000 career digs for Jada Price. She's currently at 877.
 
FORMER COLLEGE TEAMMATES
Friday night will pit a pair of former college teammates against each other. Mines' Francesca Nuzzo and MSU Denver's Annika Helf played together at Northeastern Junior College in Colorado in 2022 and 2023. While Nuzzo redshirted the 2022 season, she was on the floor with Helf in 2023. That year, the Plainswomen went 36-3 and finished fifth in the nation. Nuzzo ground out 228 digs and notched 42 service aces in her first collegiate season. Helf starred with 465 kills on .283 hitting with 48 aces and 333 digs. Both Nuzzo and Helf play outside hitter so Friday could bring some fireworks.
 
SCOUTING MSU DENVER
The RMAC title runs through Metropolitan State University at Denver. The Roadrunners have won the last four regular-season championships and have only lost one conference match since the fall of 2021. A 7-1 record in non-conference play has MSU Denver poised for another successful season. Like the Orediggers, the Roadrunners started 4-0. They played at the Embry-Riddle tournament in Florida and defeated Flagler, Embry-Riddle, Sioux Falls and Montevallo. Last weekend, MSU Denver co-hosted the Colorado Premier Challenge and fell in five sets to #25 Wayne State before downing #RV Lewis, #5 West Texas A&M, and #7 Ferris State. As a team, MSU Denver is #11 in the nation in hitting percentage, #11 in total assists, and #12 in total kills. Individually, the aforementioned Helf leads the Roadrunners with 116 kills and touts a .326 attack percentage. She also boasts 90 digs. On defense, Mia Accomazzo tops the squad at 92 digs and Alyssa Boyte owns 31 total blocks. MSU Denver's two-setter system is managed by GabriElle Brewer and Karyna Werley.
 
OREDIGGERS AGAINST THE ROADRUNNERS
MSU Denver holds a 71-21 advantage in the all-time series against the Colorado School of Mines volleyball team. That mark includes an active winning streak of six for the Roadrunners. Last season, the Orediggers fell in four sets in Golden on Oct. 4 and then suffered a 3-0 loss in Golden on Oct. 22. One of those matches was part of the RMAC Regional Pod and did not count toward the conference standings. The last time Mines defeated MSU Denver was Nov. 20, 2021. It was a five-set thriller on the Roadrunners' home court in the RMAC Tournament championship match and the home team was ranked #1 in the nation. The Orediggers pulled off a reverse sweep after falling behind, 0-2. Amanda Donais Dudley registered 15 kills and 13 digs with two aces in the win. Elle Duis ground out 28 digs as well.
 
SCOUTING UCCS
The University of Colorado Colorado Springs volleyball team is 8-0 for the first time since 2001. The Mountain Lions opened their 2025 campaign at the Hawai'I Challenge hosted by Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade. A five-set thriller against St. Mary's preempted three consecutive sweeps against Cal Poly Humboldt, Hawaii Pacific, and Cal State East Bay. Last weekend, UCCS hosted the Mountain Lion Classic and took down Millersville, Western New Mexico, Jamestown, and Western Colorado. So far, UCCS has only dropped three total sets in eight wins. Nationally, the Mountain Lions are #9 in service aces, #10 in aces per set, #11 in assists per set, #12 in hitting percentage, and #14 in kills per set. Individually, Nicole Martin's 22 aces rank #4 in the nation. Payton Tompkins paces the UCCS offense by way of 83 kills. Sydnee Walker is hitting .346 and has 70 kills. Maylen Mitrovich and Audrey Dowd split the setting duties. Mackenzie Ransom's 97 digs anchor the back row. Nicole Martin happens to have 23 blocks as well.
 
OREDIGGERS AGAINST THE MOUNTAIN LIONS
Mines volleyball is 33-24 all-time against UCCS and the Orediggers have taken 18 straight matches off the Mountain Lions. Last season, the only meeting between the two teams ended in four sets in Colorado Springs. Allison Jansen posted four service aces and Olivia Murillo finished touting 17 digs. Prior to that 3-1 win, Mines had not dropped a single set to UCCS since Nov. 2, 2018. The Mountain Lions last win against the Orediggers was Sept. 15, 201.
 
STANDING IN THE HALL OF FAME
Five-time all-American Danielle Johnson-Hazlewood was announced as a member of the Mines Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2025 over the summer. She will officially enshrined on Oct. 4. One of the most decorated players in Mines volleyball history, Johnson-Hazlewood is one of an elite few Orediggers in any sport to have been a four-year RMAC champion. She led Mines to the conference regular-season titles in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. Johnson-Hazlewood also helped the Orediggers win the RMAC Tournament title as a senior in 2015. Fans can read her entire Mines Athletics Hall of Fame profile HERE.
 
AT THE HELM
Head Coach Jamie Magalei is in her 18th season leading the Mines volleyball program. She is easily the program's all-time leader in total wins and win percentage at 370-140 (.725). Magalei surpassed 300 career wins in 2021. She's one of six to reach the milestone while coaching in the RMAC. Through 2024, Magalei has coached 31 all-America selections, three Academic All-Americans, and 66 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.
 
UP NEXT
The next action for Mines will be at home against Adams State and New Mexico Highlands next Friday and Saturday. Tickets can be purchased at www.minesathletics.com/tickets. Both contests will have live video available with a subscription to the RMAC Network.
 
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.