RAPID CITY, S.D. --- The summer break and offseason has come to an end for the SD Mines women's volleyball program as the Hardrockers are ready to hit the court. The Lady 'Rockers ended their 2016 season with a very competitive match against the University of Colorado Colorado Springs and hope to take that momentum and continue the competitive fight as the SD Mines netters prepare for the season opener this weekend at two-day tournament in North Dakota.
 
SD Mines is anxious to move forward under new head coach Jenni Bolduc -- who took the reins of the program earlier this summer. Bolduc wants to revamp the team and feels the team has shown a lot of promise during the short time she's been with her scholar athletes. 
 
"We will be looking to change the team environment and culture here at SD Mines," Bolduc said.  "The work that this team put in over the spring and the things they have done over the summer have far exceeded my expectations and the team has really grown.  
 
The Lady 'Rockers had a great signing period this past offseason, bringing in seven players to bolster the squad. Junior transfer Alye Wagner along with freshman Emma Boeke, Maya Johnson, Emma Eckel, Lily Lundquist, Tana Dahlberg and Rayleigh Peterson will add strength and depth to the core of the team.
 
Bolduc said she also is excited to be getting her redshirt senior outside hitter, Mikkella Reese, back on the court after taking her senior year to complete a co-op/internship. Reese is a leader in several categories for the Hardrockers including passing (2.37) and hitting (2.50).
 
"(Reese) is a tremendous vocal leader for us," Bolduc said. "She's going to be on the court the whole time and she is just a tremendous talent for us."
 
Leadership will be essential as SD Mines will only have two seniors guiding the young Hardrocker squad. The other floor general will be senior Emily Newton. Newton, a middle hitter, is leading the team with a 42 kill percentage.
 
"Emily and (junior) Anna Breidt have really sped up their tempo during the offseason and have adjusted to the speed of play really well," Bolduc added.
 
The Hardrockers open regular season at the Minot State Volleyball Classic in Minot, N.D. Their first match will be against Bemidji State in a 10 a.m. (MST) match on Friday followed by a 2 p.m. (MST) matchup against the MSU Beavers. Saturday SD Mines will face MSU Billings at 8 am (MST) and close out the tourney against Minnesota State – Moorhead at 2 p.m. (MST).
 
Looking at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Colorado School of Mines was selected as the favorite in this year's RMAC Preseason Volleyball Coaches' Poll.

The preseason poll was voted on by the 15 conference head coaches. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.

The Orediggers are coming off a RMAC tournament championship title last season. They garnered five first-place votes and a total of 182 points in the poll. Last campaign, the Orediggers went 25-7 overall and 15-3 in RMAC play. They entered the NCAA Division II tournament as a No. 4 seed.

MSU Denver was picked second in the preseason polls, claiming six first place votes in the coaches' poll and 174 total points. The Roadrunners enter the 2017 season after winning the 2016 RMAC Regular-Season Championship title and were the RMAC Tournament runner-up. Last year the Roadrunners topped the conference with a record of 18-0 and a 27-5 overall and entered the NCAA post-season tournament as the No. 2 seed.

The RMAC also announced the 2017 Volleyball Preseason All-Conference team on Monday.

Colorado Christian's Sophia Proano was named Preseason Player of the Year and teammate Kylee Wurster was voted Preseason Setter of the Year. This year's Preseason Defensive Player of the Year is Taylor Woods of Colorado Mesa.

The teams were voted on by the conferences' 15 head coaches. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes.

Ten of the 14 student-athletes on the preseason team earned First Team or Second Team All-RMAC recognition at the end of the 2016 campaign.

Proano, a redshirt senior was named 2016 AVCA NCAA DII All-American Honorable mention, 2016 AVCA All-Region South Central First Team and First Team All-RMAC and All-Academic. The Thornton, Colorado native led the Cougars with 509 kills on the season. She averaged 3.61 kills per set and accumulated a .307 hitting percentage.

Wurster finished the 2016 campaign ranked fourth in the conference with an average of 10.87 assists per set. She also racked up 33 service aces and 73 kills. She was RMAC Setter of the Week three times and was named Second Team All-RMAC.

Woods led the Mavericks with 4.71 digs per set for a total of 504 digs, and garnered 77 assists last campaign. Her accolades as a sophomore include Second Team All-RMAC and RMAC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 9.

Preseason All-RMAC
Hope Baldrica, CCU
Caitlin Broadwell, CSUP
MacKenzie Edwards, CMU
Vasati Fiatoa, MSUD
Hattie Gianinetti, CMU
Kelsey Green, RU
Mallory Grimsrud, ASU
Taylor Hamilton, UCCS
Janice Jin, CSM
Ellie Monarch, CSM
Sophia Proano, CCU
Santaisha Struges, MSUD
Taylor Woods, CMU
Kylee Wurster, CCU