RAPID CITY, S.D.—A short, 45-mile trek on I-90 was the only travel required for the Black Hills State University volleyball team on Thursday night. The last team standing on BHSU's 2015 schedule was South Dakota School of Mines.

The Yellow Jackets defeated the Hardrockers 3-0 during their last meeting at the Young Center on October 6. It was the first time BHSU swept South Dakota Mines since October 6, 2010, five years to that day. 

Both teams found themselves on the outside looking in on the RMAC playoff picture prior to Thursday night. BHSU held a one game lead over the Hardrockers in the RMAC standings prior to their season-ending showdown.

Luck didn't land in BHSU's court on Thursday night as they fell to South Dakota Mines 3-0 on Thursday night. The Yellow Jackets end their season with a 7-19, 4-14 RMAC record while the Hardrockers improve to 8-20, 4-14 RMAC.

The Yellow Jackets showed a display of hesitation throughout the opening stages of set one. BHSU dug themselves in a hole with back to-back attack errors out of the gates, which gave the Hardrockers a 4-1 cushion.

The Hardrockers carried the momentum throughout set one, but that didn't stop Danielle Torpey from prevailing at a crucial time. With the Yellow Jackets down 20-18, Torpey registered a block and a kill to tie the set 20-20.

Torpey added another kill to make the score 21-21, but a pair of BHSU errors followed by a Kayla Henrichs kill down the stretch gave South Dakota Mines a 25-23 win in set one.

A pair of Shelby Mayer kills to open set two gave the Yellow Jackets a 4-1 lead. That advantage slipped through the cracks as BHSU fell to the Hardrockers 25-22 in set two.

The Yellow Jackets dug themselves into a hole in set three. It was a hole they dug themselves out of when they tied the set 12-12 when Kenzie Kazmer registered a kill. 

Kazmer and Mayer each added another kill to help BHSU build their lead to 19-13. Things escalated when Mikkella Reese's three kills generated a Hardrocker run that tied the set 22-22.

BHSU and South Dakota Mines traded points to make things 23-23 before SD Mines closed the deal. Kills from Jena Kreuzer and Anna Breidt at the tail end sealed the Yellow Jackets' fate in a 26-24 loss in set three.

Kazmer paced the Yellow Jackets with nine kills while Eckhardt registered 29 assists in the match.