RAPID CITY, S.D. – Coming off a sweep in their first RMAC weekend, the Hardrocker Volleyball team heads for the first RMAC weekend of play away from the King Center.
 
They take on Adams State on Friday night and CSU Pueblo on Saturday afternoon, looking to build off their 2-0 start.  
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
Adams State:
Date/Time: Sept. 27 / 6:00 PM MT
Site: Alamosa, Colo.
Arena: ASU Fieldhouse
Series Overall: Adams State leads 6-4.
Streak: South Dakota Mines Won 1
Last Meeting: South Dakota Mines won in Rapid City, 3-0 (9/22/23).
Watch Live: RMAC Network
 
CSU Pueblo:
Date/Time: Sept. 28 / 3:00 PM MT
Site: Pueblo, Colo.
Arena: Massari Arena
Series Overall: CSU Pueblo leads 8-3.
Streak: South Dakota Mines Won 3
Last Meeting:  South Dakota Mines won in Rapid City, 3-2 (11/14/23).
Watch Live: RMAC Network
 
HITTING HARD
Ivy Vindivich was phenomenal last weekend, hitting .449 to lead the RMAC among student-athletes with a minimum of 20 attacks. The reigning RMAC Freshman of the Year had 26 kills in the pair of sweeps over Regis and UCCS.
 
LEADING THE LEAGUE
Kiley Metzger has been one of the top setters in the RMAC for years, earning RMAC honors in both of the last two seasons and she has been phenomenal to start this season as well, sitting in fourth in the RMAC with 9.31 assists per set, but had 76 assists this past weekend to tie for the lead in the RMAC.
 
BENES IS BEST
Hannah Benes just continues to do her thing as the 2023 all-conference honoree is currently second in the RMAC in digs, averaging 4.81 per set. In addition, she continues to be one of the more dangerous servers, not only in the RMAC but in Division II.
 
TERRIFIC TWOSOME
Alessandra Meoni and Jenna Curtis came to South Dakota Mines together from a renowned junior college, Western Nebraska Community College and made an immediate impact and that has not changed in their senior years as Meoni is fifth in the RMAC in hitting percentage at .350, while she is second with 3.97 kills per set and Curtis is eighth with 3.38 kills per set. Both are on the leaderboard for points as Meoni is third and Curtis is 13th as they average 4.47 and 3.51 per set.  
 
SCOUTING ADAMS STATE
Adams State has struggled to begin the year as they are 2-9 overall and started their RMAC schedule 0-2, falling to New Mexico Highlands University in five sets and CSU Pueblo in four sets.
 
The Grizzlies have limited their opponents to hitting just .180 thus far this season, the fourth-best mark in the RMAC.
 
Katie Bauer and Anna Huggins are dangerous attackers with Bauer hitting .333 to sit in eighth in the RMAC, while Anna Huggins' 3.20 kills per set is 11th.
 
Huggins is also 12th in points, averaging 3.58 per set.  
 
SCOUTING CSU PUEBLO
CSU Pueblo is 7-3 on the season and began RMAC play with two victories over New Mexico Highlands and Adams State.
 
The last time the Hardrockers and Thunderwolves met was a match to remember in the opening round of the 2023 RMAC playoffs at the King Center, where the Hardrockers emerged victorious in five sets, but the match was a battle and these two have a recent history of battles.
 
CSU Pueblo is well-rounded as they are fourth in hitting percentage and fifth in opponent hitting percentage among RMAC schools.
 
They average 1.94 blocks per set which is fifth in the league.
 
Sadie Scoville, an attacker is third in the RMAC, averaging 3.91 kills per set.
 
Josey Nunn and Macy Wood average one and .96 blocks per set to sit seventh and eighth in the RMAC.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
South Dakota Mines has a quick turnaround after this weekend with a pair of non-RMAC matchups with regional rivals at the RMAC Regional Pod where they will head to Chadron and take on Chadron State on Tuesday, Oct. 1 and Thursday, Oct. 3.
 
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.