Spearfish, S.D. - The Black Hills State University Yellow Jacket volleyball team defeated Chadron State and fell to Missouri Western on the final day of the NSU/Dacotah Bank Classic at Northern State on Saturday, Sept. 1.

Black Hills State faced fellow RMAC school Chadron State in their first game of the day on Saturday, defeating the Eagles in four games (16-25, 25,14, 28-26, 25-16). The Jackets were led by sophomore Meghan Sipe, who recoreded 16 kills and 18.5 points during the match. Juniors Amy O'Neill and Caitlin Templeton each added 14 kills, and senior Kylee Lamb recorded 10 block assists in the winning effort. 

"Early on we struggled finding rhythm as we adjusted our system from a 6-2 to a 5-1 offense," said head coach Sally Nichols. "We really hit our stride in the second set and finished with a victory."

The second game of the day saw Black Hills State fall to Missouri Western State in four games (25-18, 23-25, 16-25, 24-26), despite an outstanding game from junior hitter O'Neill who recorded 20 kills during the contest. Sipe added 13 kills for the Jackets, while Lamb and Templeton added nine and eight kills, respectively.

"We started strong taking the first set and narrowly dropping the second, and our offense was really clicking," said Nichols. "We hit a wall in the third but continued to battle. It became a race to the finish."

O'Neill was named to the NSU/Dacotah Bank Classic All-Tournament Team for her efforts on the court this weekend. For the tournament, O'Neill recorded 47 kills and 52.5 points to lead the Jackets in both categories.

The Yellow Jackets' next contest will be at home when they host the Black Hills State Tournament on Sept. 7 and 8. Their first match will be against Briar Cliff at 1:00 p.m. at the Donald E. Young Center on Friday.