The stage is set at the Auraria Event Center on the MSU Denver campus, where top-seeded Roadrunners, No. 19-ranked Colorado School of Mines, Colorado Mesa, and South Dakota Mines will collide this Friday and Saturday with the conference crown on the line.
MSU Denver (21-5, 13-1 RMAC) hosts fifth-seeded South Dakota Mines (20-7, 9-5 RMAC) in Friday’s first match at 5 p.m., followed by third-seeded Colorado Mesa (22-5, 12-2 RMAC) challenging Colorado Mines (24-3, 12-2 RMAC).
Friday’s winners will meet for the postseason title and the league’s automatic berth in the NCAA Division II Championships at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
MSU Denver, the defending NCAA Division II champions, enter the RMAC semifinals with a 13-match winning streak. The Roadrunners have won the last two league post-season titles and three of the last four.
MSU Denver vs. South Dakota Mines – MSU Denver holds a 14-1 record against South Dakota Mines dating back to 2015. The Roadrunners have won nine straight contests, with the last Hardrocker win on October 12, 2019, 12, 2019, at the King Center in Rapid City. This season, on October 3 in Rapid City, the Roadrunners beat South Dakota Mines 3-0, with two double-doubles from Brooke Gennerman and Hayden Liebsack.
Colorado Mesa vs. Colorado Mines – Although Colorado Mesa is 0-2 against the Orediggers this season, the Mavericks still lead the overall series 26-22 during the NCAA Division II era. The Mavericks have won four of the last seven matches after the Orediggers had won five of the previous six between 2019 and 2024. The Mavs are 1-2 against the Orediggers in neutral-site matches during the NCAA Division II era, last playing in 2021 in the semifinal round of that year’s RMAC Tournament, which was hosted at MSU Denver. The Mavs have also split 5-set matches with the Orediggers in the 2005 and 2008 RMAC Tournaments at Nebraska-Kearney. In RMAC Tournament play, the Mavs are 3-7 against the Orediggers, claiming last year’s quarterfinal to snap a run of five straight Oredigger playoff wins between 2012 and the spring of 2021.
Quarterfinal Recap: How They Got Here
Tuesday’s opening round delivered high-octane postseason action, highlighted by dominant sweeps and a gritty five-set thriller:
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(1) MSU Denver def. (8) Adams State (3-0): The top-seeded Roadrunners protected their home floor in style, cruising past Adams State behind 11 kills from Hayden Liebsack and a stifling defensive effort at the net that totaled 17 block assists. The straight-set victory extended MSU Denver’s winning streak to 13 matches.
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(5) South Dakota Mines def. (4) UCCS (3-2): In the most tightly contested battle of the night, the Hardrockers pulled off a thrilling five-set road upset in Colorado Springs to punch their ticket to Denver.
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(2) Colorado School of Mines def. (7) Colorado Christian (3-1): After dropping a shocking opening set 25-11, the #19-ranked Orediggers roared back to take the next three frames by identical 25-21 scores. Caroline Walden slammed down 17 kills, and Jenna McLaughlin added 15 kills with a match-high eight blocks to secure Mines’ program-record 17th consecutive win.
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(3) Colorado Mesa def. (6) Fort Lewis (3-0): Freshman standout Molly Whalen put on a clinic in Grand Junction, hammering a season-high 22 kills on a blistering .529 hitting percentage to carry the Mavericks to their seventh straight tournament semifinal appearance.
