KEARNEY, Neb. - The Black Hills State University volleyball team opened up their 2013 campaign over the weekend as they competed at the University of Nebraska Kearney in the annual UNK Runza Fall Classic on Sept. 6-7, 2013.
In the span of the two-day tournament, the Yellow Jackets played four total matches that saw them win the first match over arch-rival South Dakota Mines, 3-0, followed by two consecutive losses to William Jewell, 3-1, and No. 3 Neb.-Kearney 3-0, but ended the weekend on a high note after beating Newman, 3-2.
Head coach in her third season, Sally Nichols, was pleased to see how her team played against stiff competition over the two-day tournament.
"We played well at times, and were able to see what we are capable of against solid competition. Our gals worked extremely hard and dedicated themselves to the finish of four matches in two days with a five set win over Newman," Nichols said.
In their opening win over South Dakota Mines, senior hitter Amy O'Neill had a match high 22 kills and a kill percentage of .264. Senior Caitlin Templeton was second on the team with eight kills, while true freshman setter, Brynn Eckhardt led the way with 40 assists.
Libero Kelsey Olson had a match-high 22 digs, putting her over the 800 mark on her career with the Yellow Jackets.
The Jackets had a total of 47 kills, compared to just 29 by South Dakota Mines. BHSU won set one, 29-27, as the second set was the most successful for BHSU where they won 25-13, followed by closing out the match winning the third set, 25-22.
"The weekend also provided us with the opportunity to assess our challenges and prepare for the high level of competition we will face in our conference," Nichols said. "We will continue to refine our defense and create connections with our weapons on the front line."
Although the Jackets lost match number-two to William Jewell, 3-1, they did see their share of success, especially early on. After dropping set one, 25-23, the Jackets fired back to soundly win set two vs. William Jewell, 25-19.
In set two, the Jackets had a match low four errors as O'Neill again led the way with a balanced attack of 18 kills and 18 digs on the match. Eckhardt topped her match-one performance after a 42-assist performance, as Olson again tallied over 20 digs with 21.
The Yellow Jackets toughest match of the weekend came against the no. 3 ranked team nationally in Neb.-Kearney. In a tough match that saw UNK win in consecutive sets (25-17, 25-18, 25-18), UNK used a balanced attack throughout the match to get the win.
UNK's depth was evident as Ashley Leitner and Bailey Sokolowski combined for 25 kills as Kinslie TeKolste and Liz McGowan together totaled 32 digs.
For the Jackets, O'Neill and Templeton had 20 kills combined.
To close out the weekend in Nebraska, BHSU pushed their record back to .500 (2-2) after defeating Newman in five sets, 3-2. The match was one of the most competitive over the weekend as two out of the five matches were won by just two points.
After dropping the first set, 29-27, the Jackets won the second by five, 25-20. Newman answered back with a 25-21 third set win before the Jackets put up 27 to win set four by two. Ultimately, BHSU used their constant play as a deciding factor as they averaged 14.2 kills per set.
"Overall we were pleased to play well on the road and look forward to our tournament in Mankato next weekend," Nichols said of the UNK Tournament as the team moves forward.
Next up for the Yellow Jackets is another tournament at Minnesota State Mankato on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 13-14, 2013.
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