SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University volleyball team swept New Mexico Highlands University on Saturday night, 3-0.

Black Hills State improves to 6-6 on the season and 3-1 in conference action, while NM Highlands falls to 4-5 on the season and 1-3 in conference play.

In the first set, the two teams traded off points until 6-all when the Green and Gold went on a 5-0 run to increase the lead 11-6. The run started off with a kill by Kenzie Kazmer for the go-ahead point at 7-6. An error by the Cowgirls caused BHSU to go up 8-6. Kazmer and Fehrin Ward had back-to-back kills to give the Yellow Jackets a 10-6 lead, causing NM Highlands to take a timeout. The final point of the run came off another error by the Cowgirls.

From there, BHSU kept the momentum to close out the first set, 25-21, and take the lead, 1-0, in the match.

In the second set, the two teams traded off points until 4-all, when a kill by Cheyenne Palu gave the Yellow Jackets a 5-4 lead. From there, the Cowgirls kept it tight, but were unable to stop the force of the Green and Gold, as BHSU closed out the set, 25-20, and increased the lead to 2-0 on the match.

In the third set, the two teams traded off points until 9-all, when Black Hills State went on a 5-0 run to increase the lead to 14-9. The run started with a kill by Ward to spark the momentum. From there, an error by the Cowgirls gave BHSU another point at 11-9. Ward caused NM Highlands to take a timeout after her service ace, as BHSU led, 12-9.

After the timeout, a kill by Palu increased the lead, followed by an attack error by NMHU. The run for the Green and Gold was ended by a kill by Cynthia Norris. However, it was not enough, as BHSU ended the set at 25-19 and took the match, 3-0.

"Tonight was a big step in the right direction," said head coach Kristin Carmichael. "We started strong and put a match away in three sets. I was really pleased with our offensive determination, especially from our outside hitters. Two RMAC wins is always a great weekend."

Laurel Lech led the offense with 33 assists, while Kenzie Kazmer tallied 12 kills and a .348 hitting percentage. Ellise Lech was right behind with nine kills. Sierra Stugelmeyer and Palu each helped on offense as well, notching eight kills apiece.

On defense, Sydney Ederhoff led the way with 18 digs. Palu and Ward each recorded four blocks, while the team had nine total blocks.

Following the weekend, the Yellow Jackets side step out of conference play as they take on Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on Tuesday, September 26, at 5 p.m.