SPEARFISH, S.D. --- The South Dakota Mines volleyball team opens up conference play this week, first with a match at Black Hills State University on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m., then on Friday, the home opener is against Western Colorado University at the King Center, scheduled for a 6:00 p.m. start.

Series History

vs. Black Hill State

• In the matchups dating back to 1995, these two rivals, have met 67 times, with Black Hills State winning 47 of those battles.
• Currently, the Yellowjackets have a 9-game winning streak in the matchup.
• The last victory for South Dakota Mines was 11/12/2015.
• The longest winning streak the Hardrockers have held in this matchup was a four-game winning streak in a span of about two months, from 9/3/2011-11/2/2011.
• The Hardrockers won 6 of the first 7 matchups in this time period, from 9/2/1995-11/10/1995.
• Black Hills State won the most recent matchup, by a score of 3-0 on 3/12/2021.

vs. Western Colorado

• The matchup between these two schools started in recent times, with the first match taking place on 9/5/2014.
• The Mountaineers have won 5 of the first 7 matches in the series.
• The Hardrockers won the first matchup, followed by four straight wins by Western Colorado.
• In the most recent matchup, Western Colorado came out victorious in a 5-set barnburner on 3/18/2021.

Gold Nuggets

• The Hardrocker Volleyball team has started the season 6-2, after going 3-1 in back-to-back tournaments to start the season.
• At the Northern State Classic, South Dakota Mines defeated MSU Moorhead, #19 Northern State University, and New Mexico Highlands, before falling to Augustana.
• Jacey Koethe, and Dejah Behrend both earned All-Tournament team selections, it was the second straight weekend for Behrend to earn that honor.
• Koethe, was a force on both sides of the net, recording 37 kills, with an attacking percentage of .300%, and 14 blocks.
• Behrend had 41 kills and 11 blocks.
• South Dakota Mines has been playing strong defense, all year long, and currently has the 2nd best Opponent Hitting Percentage and digs per set in the RMAC at .146%, and 17.58.

Scouting Report

Black Hills State

• The Yellowjackets have started the season 3-5, and are coming off of a 1-3 weekend at the Tiger Classic hosted by Fort Hays State.
• Black Hills State has also been playing strong defense, they are 5th in the RMAC in opponent hitting percentage allowing an attack percentage of .174%
• The Yellowjackets are 6th in the RMAC in digs per set, averaging 14.66.
• Black Hills has several athletes among the RMAC leaderboards, with Madison Hoopman, Karly Marx, Emma Desanti, Haedyn Rhoades, and Payton Bodemann in the top 10 in per set numbers in kills, assists, service aces, blocks, and digs

Western Colorado

• Western Colorado has started the season 5-3 and is coming in on a 3-match winning streak after winning their last three matches at the Oklahoma tournament. 
• The Mountaineers are a well-balanced team as they are 6th in hitting percentage, as well as opponent hitting percentage. 
• They average 2.27 blocks per set, the third-best mark in the RMAC, and 18.87 digs per set, the only team ahead of South Dakota Mines in the RMAC hierarchy.
• Jaeda Davis-Golliher and Savanna Meyer lead the Mountaineers offensively with .422, and .412 attacking percentages for the third, and fourth-best marks in the conference.
• On the defensive side, they are led by Kat Finnerty, and Elizabeth Rupprecht who lead the conference in blocks per set, and digs 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.