RAPID CITY, S.D. --- The South Dakota Mines volleyball team is on the road to end its regular season as they take on Westminster and #11 Colorado Mesa.
GAME INFORMATION
Westminster
Date/Time: Nov. 10 / 6:00 p.m. MT
Site: Salt Lake City, Utah
Arena: Behnken Field House
Series Overall: South Dakota Mines leads 5-4.
Streak: South Dakota Mines Won 2
Series at Westminster: South Dakota Mines leads 3-1.
Streak at Westminster: South Dakota Mines Won 1
Last Meeting: South Dakota Mines won in Rapid City, 3-0 (10/7/22).
Watch Live: RMAC Network | www.rmacnetwork.com/sdmines
#11 Colorado Mesa
Date/Time: Nov. 11 / 2:00 p.m. MT
Site: Grand Junction, Colo.
Arena: Brownson Arena
Series Overall: Colorado Mesa leads 10-0.
Streak: Colorado Mesa Won 6
Series at Colorado Mesa: Colorado Mesa leads 4-0.
Streak at Colorado Mesa: Colorado Mesa Won 4
Last Meeting: Colorado Mesa won in Rapid City, 3-1 (10/8/22).
Watch Live: RMAC Network | www.rmacnetwork.com/sdmines
FRESHMAN PHENOM
Ivy Vindivich continues to push for RMAC Freshman of the Year as she put together another solid weekend last weekend. Overall, she recorded 30 kills, but on Saturday she had 19 on a hitting percentage of .536.
CONSISTENT CAPTAIN
Hannah Benes continues to have a strong season. Benes is sixth nationally in aces, averaging .62 per set, and is also second in the RMAC in digs, averaging 4.60 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 a block per set, tied for fourth in the league.
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 78 assists, including a match with 50. Metzger had just one set error and helped her team to hit .374 on Saturday. Six different hitters hit over .300 on the weekend in part due to Kiley's play.
BALANCED ATTACK
As mentioned above, the Hardrockers have many people who can beat the block and score. Vindivich and Alessandra Meoni are each in the top 10 in the RMAC in points per set and top 7 in kills per set. Meoni is eighth in the conference in hitting percentage. Jenna Curtis has been dangerous at times, hitting .571 on Friday night before coming out of the match after five kills. Paisley Gibson came on in relief and had eight kills Friday night but 14 on Saturday night along with a hitting percentage of .400.
ACES IN THE DECK
The Hardrockers lead the RMAC by a wide margin in aces, averaging 2.2 per set compared to 1.88 by second-best CSU Pueblo. That number puts the Hardrockers in 13th nationally. Benes leads the RMAC, while Josey Wickersham (.45/set), Kiera Walsh (.43/set), and Rachel Mau (.39/set) are all in the top 8 of the conference.
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.
ALMOST PLAYOFF TIME
As we head into the last week of the regular season schedule, the Hardrockers sit in fourth in the RMAC due to a head-to-head tiebreaker with CSU Pueblo. If things stand over the weekend, the Hardrockers will be hosting an RMAC playoff match for the first time on Tuesday, Nov. 14.
SCOUTING WESTMINSTER
Westminster is looking to secure a spot in the RMAC playoffs as they currently sit in the eighth and final spot, with a 6-6 RMAC record. They are 11-13 overall but are on a bit of a roll as they have won four straight matches.
Mailei Myers is second in the RMAC in hitting percentage at .363. and averages 1.72 kills per set.
Three women average over 2 kills per set Olivia Curtis (2.65), Regan Jackson (2.10), and Claire Cook (2.08).
Leila Cornejo averages 5.24 assists per game to lead the team and sit 15th in the RMAC.
Abby Reardon and Breegan Huntsman are among the digs leaders, each sitting in the top 13 in the conference, averaging 3.45 and 3.11 per set.
SCOUTING COLORADO MESA
Despite their standing in second in the RMAC and #11 in the AVCA Poll, the Mavericks still have something to play for heading into the final weekend. They are just .5 game behind MSU Denver for first place and also tied with Regis for second and just one game ahead of South Dakota Mines and CSU Pueblo. Finishing as high as first or as low as fifth is still on the table for Colorado Mesa.
This should be a good battle with the Hardrockers' defensive strength going up against the Mavericks' offensive attack. Colorado Mesa is 3rd in the conference in hitting percentage and first in kills.
Savannah Spitzer has won the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week award several times this season and is hitting .392 to lead the RMAC. Spitzer is 11th in kills. Her teammates on the outside are also dangerous. Emma Shaddix is ninth in hitting percentage, while Sydney Leffler leads the RMAC, averaging 4.41 kills per set.
Sabrina VanDeList is the leading setter in the RMAC, averaging 11.81 assists per set.
Allison Waller averages 4.44 digs per set to sit in fourth in the RMAC.
LOOKING AHEAD
Following their last two matches of the regular season, the Hardrockers will play in the RMAC playoffs. Details of the first-round match will be announced once it is official.
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.
