RAPID CITY, S.D. --- With their playoff lives on the line, Hardrocker Volleyball is at home on Friday and Saturday night at 5:00 taking on Chadron State and Colorado School of Mines.
Series History

vs. Chadron State

• Chadron State and South Dakota Mines have met 40 times dating back to 1995.
• Chadron State leads the series 23-17.
• In the most recent matchup, the Hardrockers were victorious 3-1 in Chadron (9/25/21)

vs. Colorado School of Mines

• South Dakota Mines and Colorado School of Mines have met 7 times.
• The first matchup between the two schools was held on Oct. 21, 2014, with the most recent matchup coming on September 24, 2021.
• The Orediggers have won 6 of the last 7 matchups.
• Colorado School of Mines has won two straight, winning the most recent contest 3-1 in Golden, Colo. (9/24/21)

Gold Nuggets

• The Hardrockers are currently 11-13 but have struggled to a 5-11 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 .178% 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 1,576 digs in 92 sets, to place 2nd in the conference with 17.13 digs per set.
• The Hardrockers continue to be very balanced offensively with 5 women having over 135 kills. Jacey Koethe leads the way with 198. Following her are, Sydney Crites, Dejah Behrend, Lily Bartling and Victoria Zagorski with 187, 177, 138, and 135.
• Koethe, Behrend and Bartling lead the team with 76, 64, and 53 blocks.

Koethe Killing It

• Jacey Koethe has been upping her game in recent weeks, recording 59 kills over the past four matches on a hitting percentage of .350%.
• She has also recorded 16 blocks in those four matchups.

Double-Doubles

• Kiley Metzger has made a habit of recording double-doubles this season, recording 8 total, with 7 of them coming since 9/24.

Return of Thomas

• Anna Thomas recently returned to the court and has picked up right where she left off, averaging 4.71 digs per set, a number that would lead the RMAC if she were to play enough matches to qualify.

Scouting Report

Chadron State

• Chadron State has had a tough season and is sitting with a record of 5-18 with a 3-13 RMAC record.
• The Eagles are near the bottom of the conference in most statistical categories outside of blocks and opponent blocks where they  are in the middle of the pack.
• Audrey Bennett averages 5.19 assists per set to lead the team and put her in the top-15 in the RMAC.
• CSC has three women in the top-14 in the conference in service aces.
• Micaiah Vrbka and Rylee Greiman lead the Eagles on defense sitting in 11^th in blocks and 12^th in digs.

Colorado School of Mines

• The Orediggers have continued to play well since the last time these two teams met. They are #10 in the nation thanks to a 21-3 record and 14-2 record against conference foes.
• They do this by overpowering teams on offense. They lead the Nation in hitting percentage by a wide margin at .330.
• The Orediggers also lead the RMAC in assists (5^th in the Country), and total kills (4^th in the Country).
• Their offense is able to do this thanks to Taylor Hicken Amanda Donais and Julia Eiken who are 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd in the Conference in hitting percentage. They hit .431 (4^th Best in the NCAA), .377 (17^th Best in the NCAA), and .371 (24^th in the NCAA).
• Drew Stokes helps their attacking by leading the conference with 11.77 assists per set (2^nd Best in the NCAA).

 
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.