Rapid City, SD--- The South Dakota School of Mines volleyball team starts Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play this weekend with their first two home matches of the 2018 season at the King Center in Rapid City.
 
The Lady 'Rockers will play host to Dixie State University (5-2) at 7 p.m. on Friday in a first every meeting. The Trailblazers are now full members of the RMAC and their first visit to Goodell Gymnasium.
 
Dixie State will be led by their outside hitters Megan Treanor (85 kills) and  To'a Faleao-Baich (65 kills) along with  junior middle blocker Lauren Gammell who was named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week on Monday for her performances in last weekend's DSU-hosted Desert Garden Inn by Wyndham Classic. The award is the Trailblazers' first-ever RMAC weekly citation for volleyball.
 
Gammell helped lead DSU to a 3-1 record last week, which included wins over #18 Tarleton State this past Thursday and fellow RMAC member Colorado-Colorado Springs in a non-conference match. She averaged 6.5 blocks (1.7 bps) a game in her four starts, including a career-high tying 10 total blocks (1 solo) in the Trailblazers' three-set sweep of Western New Mexico last Friday.
 
The junior also tallied six block assists vs. TSU, seven total blocks against Arkansas-Fort Smith on Saturday, and three more vs. UCCS last Friday. Gammell anchored a DSU defensive unit that combined to limit its opponents to a .125 hitting percentage over the Blazers' four games of the tournament (15 total sets).
On Saturday the Hardrockers resume RMAC play when they take on Westminster College (2-6) in a 6 pm. match at the King Center.
 
The Griffins are led by sophomore outside hitter Audrey Green with 67 kills (including a season high 25 in their win vs. Fort Lewis) during the four matches she played. Green has also recorded a double-double with kills and digs in every game this season except two where she has a season high 16 digs.
 
Since joining the RMAC the Griffins have played South Dakota School of Mines and Technology three times. Westminster is 2-1 with both wins on the road but fell last year at home in five sets to the Hardrockers.
 
The Hardrockers recorded their first two wins this past weekend in Kearney, NE by beating Midwestern State University 3-1 and Newman University 3-0.
 
The Hardrockers will go into this weekend's RMAC matches led by freshman outside hitter Dana Thomson. Thomson had 61 kills in the last four matches, and is leading not only the team this season, but also the RMAC and is currently second in the nation in kills per set, recording five each game. She has 145 total kills on the season and is ranked third in all of NCAA Div. II. She also has Top 10 rankings including: ninth in attacks per set (12.76), eighth in total attacks (340), and third in points per set (5.38).
 
Fellow freshman Shyann Bastian is also off and running on the season. The talented setter is currently 10^th in the RMAC  in assists per set (7.03) and eight in the conference in total assists (204).