CHADRON, Neb. -- October 27, 2016 -- Chadron State College volleyball will have their hands full this weekend as they travel to Denver to meet two of the stronger competitors in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

Friday the Eagles head to Golden, Colorado, for what will be their eighth match against an opponent who has been ranked in the AVCA top-25 poll at some point this season. They face No. 22 Colorado School of Mines for what is sure to be a test.

The Orediggers (16-5, 10-2 RMAC) are third in the conference standings with six matches left on the schedule, needing two wins to clinch a tournament spot.

CSM owns a streak of 15 consecutive wins against Chadron State, however the Eagles, at 6-15 (5-7 RMAC) have their best conference record coming into the meeting since the beginning of the streak in 2008.

Colorado Mines has lost two of their last three in visits to Colorado Mesa and MSU Denver. They have yet to lose at home this season, however, and three of their five losses were to nationally-ranked opponents.

Middle blockers Alanna Winfield and Ellie Monarch lead the Mines offense. Winfield, the career kills leader for her program, has accumulated 265 successful attacks on the season to rank seventh in the RMAC at 3.58 per set. Monarch's 211 kills are second on the team, and she is second in the conference hitting .335 for the year.

Libero Taryn Huber is second in the league with 5.39 digs per set.

Colorado Christian University is CSC's Saturday evening opponent. The Cougars (14-9, 6-6 RMAC) are perched one notch above CSC in the conference standings with an even-.500 league mark. They began the conference schedule 6-2, but are currently on a four-game skid, headed into their final home weekend.

CCU's Kylee Wurster directs a 5-1 offense for the Cougars from the setter position. She is fourth in the RMAC with 10.57 assists per set, and she is one of the top attacking setters in the conference with 52 kills.

Middle hitter Sophia Proano leads the Cougars with 3.60 kills per set, the fifth-best average in the RMAC, and her .283 hitting percentage ranks ninth.

Friday's match in Golden is at 7 p.m. and is dubbed "Dig Pink Night", while the Saturday contest at CCU is at 5 p.m. Chadron State football also plays Saturday at noon in Golden.