(4) Mines (20-6, 13-5 RMAC) vs. (5) Colorado Mesa (17-9, 13-5 RMAC) – Tuesday, 7 p.m. – Lockridge Arena – [Live Stats] [Live Video]
 

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GAME DAY INFO
New in 2019, fans can purchase digital tickets online in advance via Mines' new ticketing portal, or buy them at the gate on game day. Ticket pricing remains the same as 2018 at $10 for adults and $5 for seniors, military, and children. Mines students, faculty, and staff are free with their Blaster Card. No pets (except service animals) are permitted inside Lockridge Arena.
 
ON THE RMAC NETWORK
Every Mines home game and all RMAC contests can be seen live and for free on the RMAC Network at minesathletics.com/tv. The RMAC Network can also be found on Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, and Android TV devices by going to the app store and searching "RMAC".
 
2019 RMAC TOURNAMENT [Bracket]
The Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team opens its 12th straight RMAC Tournament on Tuesday as the #4 seed in the eight-team field. The Orediggers opponent will be fifth-seeded Colorado Mesa. While Mines and the Mavericks hold the same record in conference play, the Orediggers earned the higher seed and a first-round home match thanks to a five-set win over CMU in Grand Junction, Colo., earlier this season. It promises to be a hotly-contested quarterfinal match inside Lockridge Arena. The rest of the bracket features top-seeded and #5-ranked Regis hosting the eight seed UCCS. MSU Denver earned the #2 seed and hosts seventh-seeded Black Hills State. Dixie State wraps it up as the third seed hosting CSU-Pueblo which earned the #6 seed. The highest remaining seed after the quarterfinal matches will host the semifinals and final on Friday and Saturday.
 
FINALE RECAP
Mines closed the 2019 regular season on Friday at UCCS. The Orediggers left Colorado Springs with a sweep of the Mountain Lions and extended their winning streak to five matches. Lindsey Jin and Rose Stuewe led the charge with a total of 29 kills while hitting a combined .403 on the attack. In the back row, Elle Duis racked up 20 digs at a clip of 6.67 digs per set. Drew Stokes coordinated it all on 48 assists (16.0 aps) while adding three kills, one block and six digs. Abby Tiesman also added 11 kills in the effort. The win gave the Orediggers the regular-season sweep of UCCS. Mines has now won 13 straight matches against the Mountain Lions.
 
SCOUTING COLORADO MESA
The Mavericks roll into the postseason after closing out the regular season with back-to-back sweeps of UCCS and Western Colorado. Colorado Mesa has won four of its last five matches. The only loss in the stretch was the five-set defeat at the hand of Mines. Ten of Mesa's 17 wins have come in straight sets. The Mavericks have only been swept twice but are 0-2 in five-set matches. Individually, Kasie Gilfert leads CMU's offense and has made a case for RMAC Player of the Year behind 372 kills and a .393 hitting percentage. She also boasts 83 blocks. Ara Norwood is the top of two setters thanks to 610 assists and 23 service aces. Kerstin Layman anchors the back row with 426 digs. Nationally, Colorado Mesa ranks #7 in assists per set and #9 in kills per set.
 
UNBRANDED YOUNGIN'
Formerly known as Mesa State, Colorado Mesa claims the nickname Mavericks for its athletics teams. In the context of CMU, a maverick is defined as an unbranded calf or yearling. However, the term more commonly refers to an unorthodox or independent-minded person. Maverick is also the nickname of Tom Cruise's character in the 1986 film Top Gun, as well as a steel roller coaster and Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. Maverick is also the title of the famous western television show created by Roy Huggins, running from 1957-62, starring James Garner.
 
LOCKRIDGE ARENA
Fondly referred to as "The Lock", Mines' home court for volleyball, men's basketball and women's basketball features seating for 3,000 at Oredigger home athletics events. The venue has also twice hosted the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball South Central Regional Tournament. Additionally, Lockridge Arena hosts numerous major campus events and has been graced by the presence of Barack Obama, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye and many others.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Mines and Colorado Mesa faced off only once in the 2019 regular season. As previously referenced, the Orediggers won that single meeting in five sets. Not only did Mines win the match, but it snapped CMU's home winning streak which dated back into 2018. Lindsey Jin led all players in the victory with 23 kills while hitting .404. Right behind Jin was Rose Stuewe slamming down 19 kills and hitting .361. Abby Tiesman was a wrecking on both sides of the ball. She notched 14 kills and eight total blocks. With Jamie Magalei as head coach, the Orediggers are 10-5 against the Mavericks. That mark includes three sweeps for Mines and seven five-set affairs. Mines and Mesa have gone five sets in two straight matches with a mark of 1-1 in those contests.
 
CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT HISTORY
If you've read this far, you know that Jamie Magalei has been head coach at Mines since 2008. Heather Roberts has been her assistant coach the entire time. Since their arrival, Mines has won six RMAC regular-season titles, advanced to 12 consecutive RMAC Tournaments and won two of them. Under Magalei and Roberts, Mines is 14-9 in the conference postseason. However, since 2015, the Orediggers are 8-2 in the league tournament. Magalei and Roberts have guided Mines to one #6 seed, one #5 seed, two #4 seeds, one #3 seed, three #2 seeds and four #1 seeds. The Orediggers won their first RMAC Tournament as a #1 seed in 2015.
 
RMAC SETTER OF THE WEEK
On Thursday, Lindsey Jin and Abby Tiesman were named CoSIDA Academic All-District. No other program had more honorees on the all-district squad. It marks Jin's first such honor and the second straight for Tiesman. The duo earned the recognition thanks to their performance on the court and in the classroom. To be considered for the CoSIDA Academic All-District teams, a student-athlete must carry a 3.3 or higher GPA as a sophomore or above and be a starter or significant contributor to their team. Both Jin and Tiesman now move on to the CoSIDA Academic All-America ballot.
 
RMAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Oredigger sophomore Drew Stokes named the RMAC Setter of the Week on Monday thanks to her performance for the Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team in its regular-season finale. Monday's announcement gives Stokes five weekly awards this season and 10 in her career. The Illinois native had her way with UCCS as she dished out 48 assists in a sweep of the Mountain Lions on Friday in Colorado Springs. Her clip of 16.0 assists per set was complimented by three kills, one block and six digs. The performance brought Stokes up to 1,133 assists on the season and 2,478 in her career. Both those numbers rank #9 and #5, respectively, in the Oredigger record book. Additionally, Stokes currently ranks #2 in all of NCAA Division II in assists per set and #22 in total assists.
 
NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS
Mines is ranked #3 in the latest edition of the NCAA Regional Rankings. In the South Central Region, the Orediggers only trail Regis and Angelo State. While Mines remains unranked in the AVCA National Rankings, it's the NCAA Regional Rankings that determine which teams will advance to the NCAA postseason. The top eight teams in the final regional poll will advance to the NCAA South Central Regional tournament hosted by the #1 seed. If the season ended today, Regis would be hosting the first and second rounds with Mines facing off against West Texas A&M. It should be noted that the Orediggers already defeated both Angelo State and UAFS earlier this season. The rest of the poll features Texas A&M-Commerce at #4, UAFS at #5, West Texas A&M at #6, Tarleton State at #7 and MSU Denver at #8. Dixie State and Colorado Mesa are currently on the outside looking in at #9 and #10.
 
FUN COACH FACTS
For this week's "Fun Coach Fact" we step off the court. Mines' assistant coach Heather Roberts not only touts a passion for volleyball, but communications as well. That's right, Roberts has actually been published – possibly multiple times. This section specifically references her piece from The Woods Today on March 11, 2004.  Over 16 paragraphs and more than 600 words, Roberts pens on the community service of WWU student-athletes through the Champions of Character initiative. The highlight of the article may be the following proposed math problem. If you take the number one and multiply it by seven, and then multiply the product by 151, what is the total? We'll let you figure out the answer, but it is the total number of hours WWU student-athletes gave in response to the Champions of Character initiative. And now you know. Full article HERE
 
LOOKING AHEAD
A win for Mines on Tuesday carries the Orediggers into the RMAC Tournament Semifinals, most likely against top-seeded Regis. However, a loss means Mines awaits the NCAA Selection Show slated to air Sunday evening. Additional information on the semifinals or the NCAA Tournament will be available at www.minesathletics.com.
 
Keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all season long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics. Fans can also follow Mines Volleyball on Twitter using the handle @MinesVolleyball.