THE MATCHES AT A GLANCE

Date: Friday, August 11 vs. Flagler College Location: Golden, Colo. – Lockridge Arena Start Time: 1 p.m. Head Coach: Jeff Reynolds

Date: Friday, August 12 vs. Colorado Springs Location: Golden, Colo. – Lockridge Arena Start Time: 7:30 p.m. Head Coach: Tara Hittle

 

Date: Saturday, August 13 vs. CSU Dominguez Hill Location: Golden, Colo. – Lockridge Arena Start Time: 10:30 a.m. Head Coach: Teddi Esko

Date: Saturday, August 13 vs. Colorado Christian Location: Golden, Colo. – Lockridge Arena Start Time: 2:30 p.m. Head Coach: Bobby Blanken

FAN INFORMATION & GAME COVERAGE
Live Stats: https://minesathletics.com/sidearmstats/wvball2/summary
Live Video [$]: https://www.rmacnetwork.com/coschoolmines/
Tournament Page: https://minesathletics.com/sports/2026/4/21/2021-oredigger-classic.aspx
Schedule: https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sidearm.nextgen.sites/mines.sidearmsports.com/documents/2026/7/24/VB_OrediggerClassicBracket_2026.pdf
Tickets: https://tickets.minesathletics.com/section/volleyball-ipkp
 
NORTHERN STATE STORYLINES

• Brent Aldridge enters his 16^th season as head coach of the Wolves; he is assisted by Assistant Coach Grace Marti and Graduate Assistant Aurora Gutierrez-Macias
• Northern State travels to Golden, Colorado for the Oredigger Classic; a four-match weekend to open their season
• The Wolves were selected eighth in the 2026 NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll with 140 received points
• They finished 19-10 overall last season (11-9 in the NSIC) after falling to Wayne State in the first round of the Conference Tournament
• NSU went 5-5 at home, 7-5 away, and a perfect 7-0 at neutral sites last year
• The team added seven freshmen to the roster while returning 10 players from last season

 
FLAGLER COLLEGE STORYLINES

• Head coach Jeff Reynolds heads into his second year with the Saints as they kick off their season at the Oredigger Classic
• Last season they held a 22-13 final record, ending their season on a 14-2 run
• Flagler won the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) Tournament, beating the Lander Bearcats in a 17-15 fifth set contest
• Their season ended in the second round of the NCAA Division 2 Southeast Regional against then No. 14 Wingate
• Eight players from last year return for the Saints while bringing in eight newcomers
• The PBC Preseason Coaches' Poll selected the team to finish first in the conference with two Preseason All-Conference individuals

 
THE WOLVES AND SAINTS HISTORY

• There are no previous contests between the two programs
• This is the first time these teams will face each other

 
COLORADO SPRINGS STORYLINES

• Tara Hittle will start her fifth year at the helm of the Mountain Lion volleyball team
• UCCS is coming off a 26-4 (13-1 conference) season, winning their first 11 matches
• Winning two matches in the RMAC Conference Tournament, Colorado Springs fell to the No. 1 seeded, No. 9 nationally ranked MSU Denver to claim runner-up
• They ended their season in a five-set loss to Colorado School of Mines in the first round of the NCAA Division 2 Tournament
• The Colorado Springs volleyball team enters the 2026 season ranked No. 1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's Preseason Coaches' Poll with 187 received points
• Four individuals were selected to the 2026 Preseason All-RMAC Team, the most of any team in the RMAC

 
 
THE WOLVES AND MOUNTAIN LIONS HISTORY

• There are no previous contests between the two programs
• This is the first time these teams will face each other

 
CSU DOMINGUEZ HILLS STORYLINES

• Entering her third season as the CSU Dominguez Hills head volleyball coach is Teddi Esko
• The Toros finished the 2025 season with a 9-15 overall record and a 6-12 conference record
• They lost nine of their last 12 contests to finish eighth in the CCAA last year, two spots away from a conference tournament bid
• CSUDH was ranked No. 10 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Preseason Coaches' Poll with 71 total points
• Only four players from last year's team returns for the 2026 season

 
THE WOLVES AND TOROS HISTORY

• There are no previous contests between the two programs
• This is the first time these teams will face each other

 
COLORADO CHRISTIAN STORYLINES

• Bobby Blanken enters his 10th season as the Cougars' head coach
• Colorado Christian starts their 2026 season at the Oredigger Classic
• With 125 received votes, the Cougars rank sixth in the 2026 RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll
• 12 new faces join CCU, nine freshman and three transfers
• Competing in the RMAC, the Cougars finished nineth in the conference going 12-14 (7-7)
• CCU lost 11 straight before winning their final three matches last season

 
THE WOLVES AND COUGARS HISTORY

• The last meeting between the two teams took place on August 24, 2018, where Northern State came away with a 3-0 win over Colorado Christian.
• The Wolves are currently on a single-match win streak vs the Cougars
• With only one matchup between the two teams, Northern State leads Colorado Christian 1-0 all-time