COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Black Hills State University volleyball team had their season end in a 3-1 loss to the University of Colorado Colorado Springs Saturday evening.
The Yellow Jackets entered the match with an outside chance of being able to sneak into the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament, but needed a victory to keep those hopes alive.
The host Mountain Lions won the match 25-16, 22-25, 25-23 and 25-18, to improve to 12-15 overall and 8-10 in the RMAC. The Yellow Jackets end their season 10-18 overall and 7-11 in the loop.
In their first year under head coach Kristin Carmichael, the Yellow Jackets won four more games in conference play than a year ago, and had three more wins overall.
After dropping set one, the Green and Gold ensued in a back-and-forth affair in set two. The Yellow Jackets grabbed a hold of the lead after the score was knotted at 17-all before four-straight points pushed BHSU to a 21-17 lead.
The run started when Brynn Eckhardt found Danielle Torpey for the kill, followed by a block from Torpey. Then Holly Hamlin and Eckhardt assisted on a block, followed by another kill from Torpey.
The Yellow Jackets finished the 25-22 victory with a kill from Hamlin to knot the match at 1-1.
It looked as if Black Hills State would take set three, holding a 17-12 lead. However, the Mountain Lions mounted a comeback and tied the score at 18-18. The two squads would trade the lead before UCCS ultimately took the lead at 24-23 and the set at 25-23.
UCCS closed out the match with a 25-18 win in set four.
The loss closes the careers of Holly Hamlin, a native of Highmore, South Dakota, and Meghan Sipe, hailing from Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Quick Hits
- Meghan Sipe had a team-high 12 kills
- Holly Hamlin and Danielle Torpey each had 11 kills apiece
- Hamlin, one of the nation's best blockers, had 7 blocks on the evening
- Brynn Eckhardt had a match-high 39 assists
- Kim Catlett had a match-high 20 kills for UCCS
- Morgan Evans assists on 37 points
