RAPID CITY, S.D. – The South Dakota Mines Volleyball team begins its season on the road just across the state starting on Thursday night as they compete in the Augustana Volleyball Classic that will encompass four matches from Thursday-Saturday.
  
South Dakota Mines is coming off their best Division II season and hopes to continue that momentum and has reason to believe they can.
 
That team did not graduate a single athlete and was led by Alessandra Meoni, Kiley Metzger, Ivy Vindivich and Hannah Benes who all were named to the All-RMAC team.
  
Returners:
The aforementioned quartet is just the beginning for the Hardrockers as they bring back 16 student-athletes.
 
In addition to Meoni who was also an All-American and All-Region selection, among hitters, South Dakota Mines brings back fellow senior Jenna Curtis along with juniors Morgan Daugherty, Paisley Gibson and newly anointed captain, Ava Sparks.
 
Sophomores Joy Aburto and reigning RMAC Freshman of the Year Ivy Vindivich also return.
 
Meoni ranked near the top of the RMAC in hitting percentage, kills per set, points per set as well as total kills.
 
In the middle of the court, South Dakota Mines also brings back experience with Kiera Walsh who received a lion's share of the sets in front of the net, averaging .94 blocks per set on the season to come in seventh in the conference. Walsh was also a weapon behind the service line, averaging .42 aces per set. Heather Jiricek and Annelise Larson also return, return, hoping to earn more time.
 
Kiley Metzger, a two-time All-RMAC selection returns as the primary setter for her fifth year. Her 8.98 assists per set were sixth in the league and she hopes to help lead the team to a better finish in 2024.
 
Ellison Spencer also comes back as a sophomore setter who saw the court in 2023.
 
Defensive Specialist and Libero is another strong sport for the Hardrockers as they return captain, Hannah Benes who finished second in the conference in digs per set, but also led the conference with .55 aces per set and finished 21st nationally at the Division II level in that category.
 
Joining her in the back line are Josey Wickersham, Rachel Mau and Emma Grimm also return as strong players in their role, Wickersham and Mau averaged .41 and .36 aces per set last season, to finish in the top 10 in the league.
 
Newcomers:
With such a large group of strong returners, the Hardrockers brought in a smaller class of two this season with Sara Hinson, a setter from Concord, North Carolina and a local product, Maria Bouman from Spearfish, South Dakota set to play in the middle.
 
Augustana Volleyball Classic:
The South Dakota Mines volleyball team heads to West River where they will compete in four matches in the Augustana Volleyball Classic beginning on Thursday.
 
Scouting Augustana:
Traditionally, a 20-win program, the Vikings struggled to an 11-16 record in 2023 but still managed an 8-10 mark in the extremely tough Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
 
The Vikings bring back setter Lucy Bartee who averaged 10.43 assists per set along with ten other returners to go along with a newcomer class of eight.
 
Among them are former Southwest Minnesota State University and Fort Hays State University athletes Nancy Peter and Mya Vandrovec who are looking to make an immediate impact.
 
Scouting Northern State:
Another historically strong NSIC program is Northern State who the Hardrockers will meet up with early on Friday morning.
 
Coming off a year where they went 19-9 and 11-7 in the NSIC and returned 13 student-athletes including three All-NSIC selections.
 
Scouting Alaska Anchorage:
Alaska Anchorage was selected fifth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) preseason poll and returns six letter winners and four redshirts from 2023.
 
They also are expecting immediate contributions from former St. Martins and New Mexico State athletes Tia Allen and Katie Birtcil-Tipton. Birtcil-Tipton was a two-time All-Western Athletic Conference selection at New Mexico State.
 
The Seawolves have already gotten their season underway, going 1-2 in the Hawaii Pacific tournament, falling to #13 Chaminade and Hawaii Hilo, but defeating Hawaii Pacific.
 
 
Scouting Northwest Missouri State:
Northwest Missouri State is also a traditionally strong program, coming off eight straight winning seasons and 20-plus wins in five of the last seven.
 
A large senior class comes back as they bring back seven seniors, including three who were named All-MIAA in 2023. Another all-conference selection returns in redshirt freshman Ella Caffery.
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
Augustana:
Date/Time: Sept. 5 / 5:00 PM MT
Site: Sioux Falls, S.D.
Stadium: Sanford Pentagon
Series Overall: Augustana leads 5-0 (since 2013).
Streak: Augustana Won 5
Last Meeting: Augustana won in Sioux Falls, 3-2 (9/2/22).
Watch Live: NSIC Network | nsicnetwork.com/goaugie/
 
Northern State:
Date/Time: Sept. 6 / 8:00 AM MT
Site: Sioux Falls, S.D.
Stadium: Sanford Pentagon
Series Overall: Northern State leads 7-1 (since 2013). 
Streak: Northern State Won 2
Last Meeting: Northern State won in Spearfish, 3-0 (9/9/23).
Watch Live: NSIC Network | nsicnetwork.com/goaugie/
 
Alaska Anchorage:
Date/Time: Sept. 6 / 2:45 PM MT
Site: Sioux Falls, S.D.
Stadium: Sanford Pentagon
Series Overall: Never met.
Streak: Never met.
Last Meeting: Never met.
Watch Live: NSIC Network | nsicnetwork.com/goaugie/
 
MSU Billings:
Date/Time: Sept. 5 / 10:15 AM MT
Site: Sioux Falls, S.D.
Stadium: Sanford Pentagon
Series Overall: Never met.  
Streak: Never met.
Last Meeting: Never met.
Watch Live: NSIC Network | nsicnetwork.com/goaugie/
 
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 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.
 
MEDIA CONTACT
Josh Van Valkenburg-Gernert
Assistant Athletic Director
Athletic Communications
605-394-2355