Box Score RAPID CITY, S.D. – The South Dakota Mines volleyball team is coming off couple of wins in a row after defeating Black Hills State in Spearfish and jumping back into RMAC play with a victory over Fort Lewis.
Next up is a traditionally difficult trip as the Hardrockers play Colorado School of Mines on Friday night and #2 MSU Denver on Saturday night.
GAME INFORMATION
Colorado School of Mines
Date/Time: Oct. 18 / 7:00 PM MT
Site: Golden, Colo.
Arena: Lockridge Center
Series Overall: Colorado School of Mines leads 9-2.
Streak: South Dakota Mines Won 1
Last Meeting: South Dakota Mines won in Rapid City, 3-1 (10/13/23)
Watch Live: RMAC Network
KEEP THE BALL ALIVE
As has become the norm for the team in the past couple of seasons, the volleyball team does a great job of keeping the ball alive and off the floor.
As a team, the Hardrockers are leading the RMAC in digs per set and total digs, while they are 19th in NCAA Division II in digs per set.
BENES BEHIND THE SERVICE LINE
Hannah Benes is as dangerous as ever behind the service line. She averages .53 aces per set to lead the RMAC and rank 32nd nationally.
ATOP THE LEADERBOARD
Alessandra Meoni continues to have a great season. She is 11th in the conference in hitting percentage (.307), second in the conference and 27th in NCAA Division II in kills per set (4.04). Meoni is also 29th nationally and second in the conference in points per set (4.63) while leading the league in total kills (220).
SCOUTING COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
A traditionally strong program, Colorado School of Mines has been down for the past two years as they currently sit 5-10 overall and 2-3 in RMAC play.
However, they are strong defensively, as they are fourth in the RMAC in blocks per set and total blocks.
Hannah Kinnison is their most dangerous threat as a hitter as she is just inside the top 20 in the RMAC in kills per set and points per set. She is also 12th in the RMAC in digs.
Jenna McLaughlin leads their strong defense as she has 54 total blocks and averages .95 blocks per set, both good for seventh in the league.
SCOUTING MSU DENVER
The Roadrunners have been an RMAC power and among the nation's top programs for a while and this year is no different as they are atop the conference with a 14-1 overall mark and an unscathed RMAC mark of 5-0.
They rank highly in the conference and national ranks in several categories, including but not limited to assists per set (2nd, 11th), blocks per set (2nd, 4th), hitting percentage (1st, 2nd) and total blocks (2nd, 26th).
Alyssa Boyte, Kryssa Moreman and Maddy Williams are hard to get the ball by at the net as they are all in the top five in the conference in blocks per set, averaging 1.31, 1.27 and 1.10.
Moerman, Williams, Annika Heif, and Riley Anderson are hitting over .325 to all sit in the top 10 among RMAC athletes.
LOOKING AHEAD
Following this weekend, the Hardrockers have a quick turnaround and play on Tuesday against Black Hills State at the King Center before another home matchup with New Mexico Highlands on Friday, Oct. 25.
You can find the latest on South Dakota Mines volleyball all year long on X and Instagram (@hardrockervb), while also following on Facebook at Hardrocker Volleyball. The latest on South Dakota Mines athletics can be found by following us on X at @GoHardrockers, hardrockerathletics on Instagram and Hardrocker Athletics on Facebook.
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.
