SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Yellow Jackets prepare to head to Chadron, Neb., and Denver, Colo., to face Chadron State and MSU-Denver on Sept. 28 and 29. First serve is set at 6 p.m. on Friday and 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Chadron State enters the weekend with a 1-5 conference record, and are 3-11 overall, after defeating Western State, 3-0, in its most recent RMAC match.
For the Eagles, Brooke Gardner leads with 135 kills and averages 2.65 kills per set. Along with Gardner, Madison Webb leads with 462 assists in the season. The senior is currently seventh in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with 9.06 assists per set.
Ashton Burditt leads not only Chadron, but the RMAC in digs with 5.82 digs per set and totals 297 digs on the year. Redshirt freshman
Chandler Hageman leads the Eagles with 41 blocks, 14 of them solo.
After Friday's match against the Eagles, the Yellow Jackets move on to play MSU-Denver. The Roadrunners are fourth in the RMAC standings with a 4-2 conference record, and an 8-6 overall record.
MSU-Denver is led by senior Santaisha Sturges with 174 kills, rounding out a 3.35 average per set. Closely behind the Parker, Colo., native is Taylor Duryea with 170 kills. Duryea is also on the RMAC leader board for the Roadrunners with 17 service aces in 52 sets, standing in fifth averaging .33 per set.
Alongside Sturges and Duryea, Morgan Weatherwax leads MSU-Denver in assists. Weatherwax totals 298 assists, averaging 5.96 assists per set.
Sophomore Lyric Hebert holds down the Roadrunner defense with 259 digs. Hebert is fourth in the RMAC, averaging 4.98 digs per set. Aside the sophomore, Alyssa Keling leads with 47 blocks, three of them solo.
Black Hills State travels to Nebraska after falling, 3-1, in a tough match against No. 23 Colorado School of Mines. The Yellow Jackets now hold a 5-8 overall record, and are 2-4 in conference.
Leading the Green and Gold offense is freshman DeLange with 112 kills. The Colorado native averages 2.43 kills per set. Alongside her is senior
Sierra Stugelmeyer with 95 kills.
Laurel Lech tallies 382 assists on the season to be placed eighth in the RMAC, averaging 8.13 assists per set.
On defense,
Valerie Blake totals 150 digs for the Yellow Jackets. The sophomore averages 3.19 digs per set. Beside Blake, Stugelmeyer and
Carisa Becerra lead with 37 blocks each. Stugelmeyer has two solo blocks, while Becerra has four.
Following the weekend, the Green and Gold will play conference rival South Dakota School of Mines and Technology on Tuesday, Oct. 2. Game time is slated for 6 p.m.
