Mines Athletics
Tim Flynn
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Colorado School of Mines Volleyball team jumped eight spots to No. 8 in Week Two of the AVCA Division II Coaches’ Top-25 released Wednesday afternoon by the American Volleyball Coaches’ Association.
Mines made the leap after a 3-0 win over South Dakota Mines on Sunday. The Orediggers are now 3-1 with back-to-back wins including two straight sweeps. It marks Mines’ highest ranking since 2015 when the Orediggers appeared at No. 6 after week one of the regular season. Mines started the 2015 campaign ranked No. 8. The Orediggers opened 2021 ranked 19th and rose into a tie for 16th last week. Sunday’s victory featured 11 kills from Taylor Hicken with 10 kills each from Lindsey Jin and Amanda Donais. Jin hit a career high .667 on the attack while Donais notched the 11th double-double of her career thanks to 11 digs. Drew Stokes added 38 assists and Elle Duis racked up 13 digs.
The Orediggers are one of five RMAC teams in the top-25 and one of three inside the top-10. MSU Denver leads the way for the conference at No. 4 in the nation. Colorado Mesa is just one step ahead of Mines at No. 7. Regis jumped from 24th to 17th thanks to its first win of the season. UCCS charged into the top-25 at 22nd after not being ranked a week ago.
While college volleyball is traditionally played in the fall, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Presidents’ Council voted to postpone the 2020 RMAC season until the spring after the NCAA canceled all of its 2020 fall championships due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mines now touts a 13-match, conference-only schedule with a combination of pod play and single matches. Testing protocols and other safety measures currently remain as the pandemic continues.
Mines continues its campaign on Thursday at Western Colorado with first serve slated for 7 p.m. No spectators are allowed to attend, but live video and stats will be offered for free at www.minesathletics.com.