SPEARFISH, S.D.—Road warriors is a name that correlates with the Black Hills State University volleyball team thus far in 2015. The Yellow Jackets took trips to Topeka, Sioux Falls and Denver; so it's safe to say the women in green and gold have logged their share of miles.
BHSU got their chance to display their talents at the Donald E. Young Center on Friday, September 10 when they faced New Mexico Highlands. The Yellow Jackets were looking for a nice change of pace that'd be the recipe of snapping their four-game losing streak.
Playing at home was what the doctor ordered for the Yellow Jackets as they defeated New Mexico Highlands 3-0 in an RMAC match.
The victory improves BHSU's record to 4-7, 1-2 RMAC.
Black Hills State University 3, New Mexico Highlands 0
Set one was tied on 14 different occasions and saw multiple lead changes. The Yellow Jackets pulled away for good when they took a 20-19 lead on a Cowgirl attack error.
Back-to-back kills from Kristin Woody narrowed the BHSU lead to 22-21, but that didn't phase the women in green and gold. However, NMHU attack errors down the stretch sealed a 25-21 set-one win for the Yellow Jackets.
Set two proved to be the same story, a lot of lead changes and ties. The Yellow Jackets prevailed at the crucial moment with the set tied 22-22. A Brynn Eckhardt kill followed by an Ellise Lech service ace gave BHSU a 24-22 lead. Shelby Mayer put the icing on the cake with a kill to secure a 25-22 set-two victory for BHSU.
The first two sets fueled the Yellow Jackets' fire, as they never surrendered the lead in set three. With the set tied 9-9, Cassidy Steele and Eckhardt registered kills to pace BHSU to a 13-9 lead.
The Yellow Jackets never looked back from that point as they capitalized on New Mexico Highlands attack errors down the stretch that locked up a 25-18 win.
Danielle Torpey registered nine kills while Shelby Mayer added eight in the match.
The Yellow Jackets will return to action tomorrow against Western New Mexico University at the Young Center. Game time is set for 5:00 p.m.
