RAPID CITY, S.D. --- The South Dakota Mines volleyball team goes to the road for the second straight weekend as they take on Fort Lewis College Friday night at 6:00 p.m., and Western Colorado University Saturday for a 4:00 matchup.

Series History

vs. Fort Lewis

• The Hardrockers and Skyhawks have met 6 times in the past.
• Currently, Fort Lewis holds a 4-2 advantage in the series.
• The Hardrockers emerged victorious in the most recent matchup on 2/20/2021.

vs. Western Colorado

• South Dakota Mines and Western Colorado have met a total of 8 times.
• The first matchup between the two schools was held on Sept. 5, 2014, with the most recent matchup coming this season, on Sept. 17, 2021.
• Western Colorado has won 6 of the 8 matchups.
• The two most recent matchups were both 5-set victories for the Mountaineers.

Gold Nuggets

• The Hardrocker Volleyball team has started the season 9-9 but has struggled to a 3-7 start after a 6-2 start to the season.
• South Dakota Mines' strength thus far this season has been its' play on the defensive side of the net. The Hardrockers allow the opposition to hit .182% against them. That is the sixth-best opponent hitting percentage in the RMAC.
• In addition to forcing errors, the Hardrocker defense keeps balls off of the floor, with 1145 digs in 67 sets, to place 1^st in the conference with 17.09 digs per set.
• Addie Stanley is one of the main reasons South Dakota Mines keeps balls from hitting the floor, as she is 9^th and 13^th in the RMAC averaging 3.97 digs per set.
• The Hardrockers continue to be very balanced offensively with 4 women having over 120 kills, and 5 over 100. Dejah Behrend leads the team with 135 kills, Sydney Crites is right behind her with 131, Jacey Koethe has 127, and Emma Grimm and Lily Bartling have 121, and 101.  
• Stanley and Grimm are each over the 200-dig mark on the season at 266, and 225.
• Kiley Metzger and Shyann Bastian lead the team in assists. Metzger has 338, while Bastian is sitting with 230 for the season.
• Koethe, Behrend and Bartling lead the team with 50, 41, and 40 blocks.

Scouting Report

Fort Lewis

• Fort Lewis has started the season with a 4-10 record on the season, starting 1-7 but have bounced back to win 3 of their last 6.
• The Skyhawks rank near the bottom of the RMAC in most statistical categories.
• Chailyn Swenson is one of the leaders for the Skyhawks, as she averages 2.89 kills per set to put her just outside of the top 10 in the conference.
• Payton Harmann averages just over 5 assists per set, putting her in the top 15 in the RMAC.
• Kamryn Lopez is 14^th in the RMAC, averaging 3.58 digs per set.

Western Colorado

• Western Colorado started the year 9-6 but is currently on a 3-match losing streak to put their overall record at 9-9, with a 4-6 RMAC mark.
• The Mountaineers have allowed an opponent hitting percentage of .196 on the season.
• As a team, the Mountaineers average 12.32 kills per set to put them in 5^th in the RMAC.
• Western Colorado is 2^nd in the RMAC with 17.06 digs per set.
• Alex Garcia averages 8.16 assists per set, the 7^th best in the conference.
• Kat Finnerty is a force defensively, leading the conference in blocks, averaging 1.11 per set.

About South Dakota Mines
The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology is a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) and NCAA Division II offering 11 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic programs. The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is a premier NCAA Division II conference with 15 members, as well as four associate members, located in the states of California, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Utah.