SPEARFISH, S.D. – Black Hills State volleyball kicked off their two-game weekend with a 3-1 victory over the Western Colorado Mountaineers on Friday night.
 
As a team, the Yellow Jackets reached a season high 13 total blocks against the Mountaineers, aiding in their victory in the early sets as they recorded six of these blocks in the first set.
 
Abigail Renner led the scoring for the Yellow Jackets as she put up 12 kills, a pair of service aces, a block assist, and ten digs. Kindra Cerrone also laid down attacks throughout the night as she hit 11 kills and an assist, but also notched a solo block and a trio of block assists with 14 digs to aid in defense. Aiyana Byrd played a large role in the Yellow Jacket net play tonight as she held six block assists and one solo block, while Mariah Robinson held a pair of solo blocks and three block assists. Haedyn Rhoades piled on 26 digs in her performance versus WCU, and Karly Marx recorded a team leading 33 assists.
 
Set One (W, 25-17): The Yellow Jackets and the Mountaineers started neck and neck in set one that saw an 8-8 scoreboard before the Yellow Jackets began taking small victories from the net, scoring on two blocks, a kill, and a Mountaineer attack error to go up 12-8. BHSU continued to run up rallying scores thanks to key blocking opportunities, holding WCU to a 13-9 series for the rest of the set to start out on top.
 
Set Two (W, 25-15): BHSU carried their momentum into set two, commanding the second set with an early 9-2 lead over WCU, with the Mountaineers struggling to stir up enough momentum to catch up throughout the set. They brought the set to a 19-13 score, but could not stop the Yellow Jacket momentum as they only put up two more points before BHSU took the second set, threatening a home clean sweep.
 
Set Three (L, 25-22): The match took a dramatic turn in set three as WCU, down 2-0 in the match, found their footing to hold out the Yellow Jackets for another set of volleyball. Both teams did not obtain more than two points of separation. Set three saw eight lead changes and 12 tying scores that led to a 21-all scoreboard down the stretch. After another Yellow Jacket block, the Mountaineers went on a four-score series to retire the set and force the game to go into a fourth set.
 
Set Four: (W, 25-19): The final set started in a tight contest between both squads as each team traded scores up to a 14-14 tie. However, BHSU pulled out all the stops and outscored the Mountaineers in a 9-2 series to leap out in front 23-16. WCU had played tough volleyball in the final two sets, but the deficit created by the Yellow Jackets proved to be too much to overcome as BHSU closed the set to secure their second home victory of the season. 
 
Up Next
The Yellow Jackets return to the Donald E. Young Center on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 5:30 p.m. for a matchup against the Fort Lewis Skyhawks.