After losing to the eventual national champions by two points in last year’s NCAA Division II tournament, the senior Orediggers are ready to make their final volleyball season one to remember.

The Colorado School of Mines volleyball team tips off its 2023 season Sept. 1-2 at home with the annual Oredigger Classic, before attacking its conference schedule. The Orediggers were ranked No. 4 in a recent Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference preseason poll.

Senior opposite hitter Shannon Perna said the Orediggers have tough conference opponents this year, and was most excited for the MSU Denver matches on Sept. 29 and Nov. 8. The Roadrunners are usually nationally ranked, she said, and they hit the Orediggers with a heartbreaking home loss last October.

“I feel like we have the talent to beat them (this year),” Perna said after practice Aug. 15. “So, I’m ready for it.”

The Orediggers’ starting setter and libero graduated last year, and Coach Jamie Magalei said this year’s squad is relatively inexperienced with five newcomers and some upperclassmen who only played last year.

She looked to Rose Stuewe, a fifth-year outside hitter and current graduate student, and other upperclassmen to continue Mines’ culture of player leadership.

“We work hard; we pay attention to the details; and we have our goals in mind,” Magalei said. “The upperclassmen are the leaders of the pack as far as how we do things. They are always making eyes at each other, instead of looking at their coaches for everything.”

Overall, Magalei believed 2023 will be a “big teaching year” for the Orediggers.

While they’ll need to reinforce their defense after losing their starting libero, Magalei said the focus now is figuring out the offense and integrating a new setter.

There are three setters working to see who connects the best with Mines’ hitters, and Magalei said it was too early to say whether one player or multiple will start at setter this season.

“When you fill in a new setter, everything’s different,” she continued. “They have to really get to know each other.”

Filling their shoes

Six players are tentatively slated to graduate after the 2023 season, including Stuewe and Perna. Magalei could tell how excited her seniors are to step into that leadership role, as they “experience what some of the graduates in front of them did” and fill the shoes they left behind.

Part of that, as Perna explained, is focusing on the team effort. Last year, she focused less on her individual stats and more on “helping with the little touches” to help the Orediggers succeed.

So far, the upperclassmen have been doing an excellent job at helping the younger players integrate onto the team, talking them through practice and “make sure they’re playing their best ball,” as Magalei described. Ultimately, the upperclassmen don’t want the newcomers to feel like they have to face things alone, she continued.

Stuewe was encouraged by how well the players are clicking after only a few practices together, and believed Mines could return to the NCAA tournament based on the talent and effort everyone’s displayed so far.

“It’s exciting to see how we’re working together as a team already,” Stuewe said, “and we’re very excited to see where all our hard work gets us.”

The seniors had mixed feelings about starting their final season, with Stuewe saying she’s excited to graduate with this group.

Perna described how volleyball has been a driving force in her life, and she’s putting everything into this season.

She recalled when her senior class joined the team as “the COVID babies” who were essentially quarantined together for a month in 2020-21. Now, they’re some of her best friends on campus, and she wanted to help make their collective final season the best one possible.

“It’s been a great beginning, honestly,” Perna said of the first week of practice. “ … We have a lot of talent to replace, but I think we’re replacing it. I know we’re all very great players. I think everyone will contribute and do great things.”

For the full 2023 Mines volleyball schedule, including information on the Sept. 1-2 Oredigger Classic, visit MinesAthletics.com.