COLORADO SPRINGS – Mines volleyball swept the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's (RMAC) major awards for the 2026 season on Thursday thanks to Kaiya Gilbert, Jamie Magalei, and Jenna McLaughlin. The Orediggers also totaled five All-RMAC players.
 
McLaughlin led the way as both RMAC Player of the Year and RMAC Defensive Player of the Year. Gilbert was voted RMAC Setter of the Year and RMAC Freshman of the Year. Magalei completed the sweep by earning RMAC Coach of the Year. It marks the first-ever superlative awards for McLaughlin and Gilbert, and the first RMAC Coach of the Year award for Magalei since 2013. McLaughlin and Gilbert were voted First-Team All-RMAC as well. Francesca Nuzzo and Abbie O'Shay claimed Second-Team All-RMAC distinction. Naomi Romslo was Honorable Mention All-RMAC. Mines becomes the first program since at least 1995 to sweep every major award, and the only program to win all five distinctions since RMAC Setter of the Year was started in 2005. The all-conference teams and awards were voted on by the league's 15 head coaches who could not vote for themselves or their own players.
 
McLaughlin became Mines' first RMAC Player of the Year since Danielle Johnson-Hazlewood won the award in 2015. She also became the second Oredigger to ever win RMAC Defensive Player of the Year with Taryn Huber sharing the distinction in 2016. McLaughlin won the honors with a 27-match resume featuring 284 kills at 3.05 kills per set on .392 hitting with 140 total blocks at 1.51 blocks per set while adding 54 digs, 18 aces, and eight assists. The Ohio native currently ranks #1 in the RMAC in hitting percentage and blocks per set while sitting #3 in the RMAC in points per set, #4 in total points, and #10 in kills per set. Nationally, McLaughlin is #2 in NCAA Division II in blocks per set, #7 in the nation in total blocks, #19 in hitting percentage, and top 50 in points per set. She was named RMAC Defensive Player of the Week five times during the regular season and added RMAC Offensive Player of the Week once as well.
 
Gilbert joined a long line of Orediggers to RMAC Setter of the Year with the most recent being Drew Stokes in 2022. Overall, Mines has won the setter award 10 out of a possible 22 times including Gilbert's honor. She's also Mines' first RMAC Freshman of the Year since Stokes in 2018. Gilbert's stat line through 27 matches includes 938 assists at 10.09 assists per set along with 73 kills on .333 hitting, 247 digs, 70 total blocks, and 29 service aces. The true freshman currently ranks #1 in the RMAC in total assists and assists per set by a large margin. Nationally, Gilbert is #29 in DII in assists per set and top 50 in total assists.
 
Magalei, the only coach in program history to win RMAC Coach of the Year, claimed her third such honor and first since 2013 amidst an already record-breaking season. Under Magalei's direction, the Orediggers are 24-3 overall after going 12-2 in conference play and clinching the #2 seed in the RMAC tournament. During the 2026 season so far, Mines has broken the program record for consecutive sets won, consecutive 3-0 victories, and consecutive victories overall. The Orediggers are riding 17 straight wins into the conference semifinals. Statistically, Mines is #3 in the nation in blocks per set, #9 in total blocks, #13 in winning percentage, #15 in hitting percentage, and #31 in kills per set. Magalei has the Orediggers ranked #19 in the nation and #2 in the region. Furthermore, as the winningest active coach in the RMAC, Magalei won her 400th career match during the 2026 campaign in a 3-0 victory at Westminster.
 
Nuzzo, who was Honorable Mention All-RMAC in 2025, earned Second-Team All-RMAC at libero thanks to 400 digs at 4.30 digs per set and a team-high 34 service aces. She also had 134 assists and three kills from the back row. She ranks #5 in the RMAC in service aces, #6 in service aces per set, #8 in total digs, and #9 in digs per set on the team ranked #1 in the league in opponent hitting percentage. Similarly, O'Shay was Honorable Mention All-RMAC in 2025 as well and won 2026 Second-Team All-RMAC as a middle blocker. Her numbers include 184 kills on .293 hitting with 73.0 total blocks as she ranks #10 in the RMAC in hitting percentage. Romslo's Honorable Mention All-RMAC nod is the first of her career after knocking down 223 kills on .209 hitting on the outside with 95 digs, 36 total blocks, and 29 service aces.
 
Mines plays in the RMAC tournament semifinal on Friday against third-seeded Colorado Mesa at 7:30 p.m. on the campus of MSU Denver.
 
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.