SPEARFISH, S.D.—The Black Hills State University volleyball team returned to the drawing board after a 2-2 outing at the Washburn Invitational on September 4-5.  The Yellow Jackets knew a rigorous test stood at the forefront as a quartet of NSIC squads awaited them at the Augustana College Showcase on Friday afternoon. 

A few statistical career-highs for BHSU players coupled with Danielle Torpey's spot on the Washburn Invitational All-Tournament team last week gave BHSU the necessary confidence against the always-tough NSIC.

First on BHSU's schedule was Augustana University.  The Vikings rode a three-game winning streak into their date with the Yellow Jackets that include wins over Colorado School of Mines and Colorado Christian.  A rough start doomed the Yellow Jackets in a 3-1 loss to the Vikings.

Next was the University of Minnesota-Crookston, who carried a 3-1 record into the tournament.  The Golden Eagles dropped a heart breaker to Northwest Missouri State 3-2 earlier in the day. The Yellow Jackets continued that heart break trend with a 3-2 win over the Eagles.

BHSU's record sits at 3-3, 0-0 RMAC.

Augustana University 3, Yellow Jackets 1

An enormous Augustana University run that saw them score 11 unanswered points propelled them to a 25-4 win in set one.

The Yellow Jackets burst to a 5-0 lead in set two paced by three consecutive Viking attack errors.  A pair of kills each from Cassidy Steele and Tropey doubled up the Vikings 12-6. 

The Vikings narrowed the BHSU lead to 12-10 as a result of three Yellow Jacket errors.  The Yellow Jackets held a lead most of the set until two consecutive Viking kills followed by a BHSU attack error tied the set 23-23.

Kenzie Kazmer and Torpey came through with back-to-back kills to secure a 25-23 victory for the Yellow Jackets in set two. 

Set three saw BHSU trail the entire time.  The Yellow Jackets made things 2-2 after a bad Viking set, but that's as close things got.  A pair of Dani Magdzas kills paced the Vikings to their largest lead at 15-9.  

BHSU narrowed things to 22-20, but couldn't put together a rally in a 25-20 set-three loss.

A well-balanced BHSU attack got them within one point of the Vikings at 14-13.  Unfortunately, an 8-1 Viking run sealed BHSU's fate in a 25-15 set-four loss.

Torpey led BHSU with nine kills in the match. 

Yellow Jackets 3, Minnesota-Crookston 1

The Yellow Jackets and Eagles saw themselves tied on 12 different occasions throughout the course of set one.  Crookston held a three point lead three different times with each of those leads being the largest of the set.

With the score tied 24-24; it was BHSU who prevailed at the most crucial time.  A Brynn Eckhardt kill followed by an Eagle attack error gave BHSU a 26-24 win in set one.

BHSU jumped to a 6-2 lead in set two thanks to kills from Shelby Mayer, Torpey, and Eckhardt.  That was enough motivation for the Eagles to pick away at BHSU and tie them 8-8.  An Eckhardt kill gave BHSU an 18-17 lead, but couldn't pull away in a 25-22 loss in set two.

BHSU dug themselves into a hole with a 25-23 loss in set three, followed by a 25-21 set four defeat that tied the match 2-2. 

Set five proved to be the same up-and-down volleyball as the others.  Set five saw BHSU and Crookston tied on seven occasions.  

With the score knotted 7-7; BHSU took the lead for good on Lacy Stevens' service ace to make the score 8-7.  Things were close until a Torpey kill, Mayer service ace and an Eagle attack error gave the Yellow Jackets a 15-11 set five win. 

Torpey tied a career-high 20 kills to pace BHSU offensively while Eckhardt registered 46 set assists. 

BHSU will return to action tomorrow in the Augustana Showcase against Northern State at 11:00 a.m., and Minnesota-Moorhead at 5:00 p.m.