RAPID CITY, S.D. --- The South Dakota Mines volleyball team is coming off one of the best regular seasons in program history.
They look to keep that season going as they host an RMAC Playoff match for the first time on Tuesday night.
GAME INFORMATION
CSU Pueblo
Date/Time: Nov. 14 / 7:00 p.m. MT
Site: Rapid City, S.D.
Arena: King Center
Series Overall: CSU Pueblo leads 8-2.
Streak: South Dakota Mines Won 2
Series at South Dakota Mines: Tied 2-2
Streak at South Dakota Mines: South Dakota Mines Won 2
Last Meeting: South Dakota Mines won in Rapid City, 3-2 (9/23/23).
Watch Live: RMAC Network | www.rmacnetwork.com/sdmines
Tickets: https://rmacsports.org/tournaments/?id=232
SPECIAL SEASON
The Hardrockers finished with an overall record of 17-9, their most since 2011, and just the third winning season in the DII Era while also the first since joining the RMAC. Speaking of RMAC, the RMAC record was 10-4, the first winning RMAC record in history.
That record was good enough to earn the Hardorkcers a top-4 seed in the RMAC and a home playoff match, another first, not just for the volleyball program but among all sports since joining the DII ranks.
CONSISTENT CAPTAIN
Hannah Benes has had a very strong season, ranking first in the RMAC aces per set and second in digs per set with .59 and 4.63 per set.
CLIMBING THE LEADERBOARD
Kiera Walsh has gotten stronger and stronger as the season has moved on and has become tough to get by as a blocker. She is averaging .99 blocks per set, sitting in sixth in the RMAC.
SPECIAL SETTER
Kiley Metzger continues to have a great season, setting up her teammates for great scoring opportunities. She is coming off a weekend where she had 81 assists. She recorded 48 on Saturday against Colorado Mesa. She combined for just one total error in the two matches.
DANGEROUS HITTERS
The Hardrockers have a pair of top-five RMAC hitters in Alessandra Meoni and Ivy Vindivich. Vindivich is fourth with 3.54 kills per set and Meoni is right behind her with 3.41 per set.
ACES IN THE DECK
The Hardrockers lead the RMAC by a wide margin in aces, averaging 2.14 per set. Benes as mentioned above, leads the RMAC with .59, but Kiera Walsh and Josey Wickersham are tied for second with .44 per set. Rachel Mau is also the top 10, averaging .39 per set.
PROTECTING HOME COURT
The Hardrockers have been dominant on their home court this season as they are holding a 7-2 record with their only losses coming against top 10 nationally ranked MSU Denver and Fort Lewis in the power pod.
PLAYOFF TIME
The Hardrockers have earned the #4 seed in the RMAC, earning them a home game in the quarterfinals against CSU Pueblo. The winner moves on to Denver, to the semifinals for a match on Friday, November 17th.
SCOUTING CSU PUEBLO
CSU Pueblo finished up the regular season as the five seed in the RMAC with South Dakota Mines getting the four due to the head-to-head victory back in September.
After struggling in the beginning of the season, the ThunderWolves turned it on in conference play to finish 10-4, including the only conference opponent to defeat MSU Denver when they beat them at home on Oct. 21. However, CSU Pueblo did lose two of three to close the season, allowing the Hardrockers to swoop in and grab home court.
The ThunderWolves have a strong offense that is third in the RMAC in hitting percentage. That offense is led by Kendall Harrington who finished 10th in the RMAC in hitting percentage and averaged 2.96 kills per set. Her teammate, Payton Van Veen averaged 3.20 kills per set.
LAST TIME THEY MET
When these two met at the King Center in September it was an absolute battle. The Hardrockers won it in five sets (25-19, 17-25, 25-21, 17-25, 15-12), but both teams are different than they were at that time. At that time, the Hardrockers had yet to begin starting Ivy Vindivich who emerge into a top-5 hitter conference wide as a freshman, and CSU Pueblo was just 4-8 overall.
In that matchup, the Hardrockers were led by Alessandra Meoni and Paisley Gibson with 15 and 12 kills, while Annelise Larson recorded five blocks. Kiera Walsh recorded four. The Hardrockers had three players with double-digit digs in Hannah Benes (20), Rachel Mau (16), and Josey Wickersham (14).
The ThunderWolves were led by Kendall Harrington and her 16 kills. Josey Nunn recorded five blocks, while Sabrina King added 25 assists.
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 13 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.
