DENVER – The Black Hills State University volleyball team gave No. 25 Metro State University of Denver all it could handle in a 3-1 loss Saturday afternoon in Denver, Colorado.

The Yellow Jackets took the first set 26-24 and fell in sets two and three 25-21 and 25-20, respectively. In the fourth set, Black Hills State pushed MSU Denver but fell 26-24.

With the victory, MSU Denver stays in a tie for first place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with a 9-1 conference record and 15-3 overall. The Yellow jackets fall to 6-13 overall and 4-6 in the loop.

In the first set and the Yellow Jackets down 13-11, a Holly Hamlin kill started a five-point run that gave BHSU a 16-13 lead. Meghan Sipe and Kenzie Kazmer each had a kill in the run while the Yellow Jackets utilized a pair of attack errors from the Roadrunners.

Metro State battled back and took an 18-17 lead. The two squads battled back and forth until the Yellow Jackets strung together the last two points of the set, a kill from Kazmer and a block from Shelby Mayer to take the set 26-24.

After dropping sets two and three, the Green and Gold made a comeback in the fourth set to push the Roadrunners as far as they could. Down 16-12, the Yellow Jackets took an 18-17. The BHSU run began with a kill from Kazmer and was aided by blocks from Mayer and Brynn Eckhardt. The run continued with kills from Mayer, Sipe and Eckhardt, which gave the Yellow Jackets a 17-16 lead.

The Roadrunners received a kill from Michaela Smith to knot the game at 17-all before Eckhardt had a kill with an assist from Lacey Stevens to take the one-point lead.

MSU Denver continued to battle right with the Yellow Jackets and reclaimed the lead at 22-21 and the two squads traded points until a 24-24 set. The Roadrunners prevailed in the end with a 26-24 victory and a 3-1 match win. 

The Yellow Jackets return to the Young Center for a 7 p.m. contest against Chadron State University. The match is Breast Cancer Awareness Night where the first 100 fans receive a Pink t-shirt sponsored by Wolff's Plumbing and Heating. 

Quick Hits

• Meghan Sipe and Danielle Torpey each tied for a match-high 15 kills
• Brynn Eckhardt had a match-high 43 assists
• Shelby Mayer and Eckhardt each led the team with five blocks. Both accounted for one solo and four assisted
• Lacey Stevens had a team-high 25 digs
• Brandi Torr had a team-high 40 assists for MSU Denver
• Michaela Smith had a team-high 13 kills