ALAMOSA, Colo. – Black Hills State volleyball fell in a gritty battle against the Adams State Grizzlies in five sets on Friday night, despite forcing a set three after going down 2-1.
 
Abigail Renner finished the game with a pair of service aces under her belt, also recording a .235 clip with 14 kills on 34 total attacks. Kindra Cerrone also played her part in the Yellow Jacket offensive tonight, recording 14 kills on 34 attempts that was good for a .176 clip.
Madison Hoopman played an efficient match as she booked a 15-kill game that also featured a pair of digs and three blocks against ASU, while Haedyn Rhoades carried the dig load for BHSU with 27 recorded digs.
Karly Marx finished with 51 assists on the night, only three off from her season high. Marx also held a solo block in the fourth set that helped the Yellow Jackets force a fifth.
 
Set One (W, 25-18): The Yellow Jackets started the first set hot, taking an early 5-1 advantage before ASU put up a 5-1 series to tie the game up at 6. Despite multiple Yellow Jacket attempts to gain a point gap over the Grizzlies, ASU continued to resist their push as the set was tied four times up to a 15-13 BHSU lead, with two lead changes in the mix as well. The Yellow Jackets gained their largest point lead of the set at 18-13 at the first Grizzly timeout. Coming out of the break, ASU creeped within three of BHSU until three Renner kills in a row led to the Yellow Jackets retiring the set with a seven-point lead. BHSU finished with a team total .343 hitting efficiency in the first.
 
Set Two (L, 25-18): A pair of offensive points for the Yellow Jackets and a trio of ASU errors led to a 5-1 start in favor of BHSU in the second set. The Grizzlies were able to strum up momentum, scoring a six-point run to pull themselves back into the game with an 11-9 scoreboard in their favor. Another 4-1 series for ASU forced the Yellow Jackets to call their first timeout with a five-point deficit. A 10-8 series was enough for the Grizzlies to put the Yellow Jackets away to even the game at 1-1. Although only hitting a .149 clip in the set, ASU notched 5 service aces and four blocks in their second set victory.
 
Set Three (L, 25-16): After the set started with a 6-3 ASU lead, multiple errors on the Grizzlies paved the way for the Yellow Jackets to bounce back to a brief 8-6 lead. After the set went into an 11-9 lead in favor of ASU, both teams exchanged scores allowing the Grizzlies to maintain the lead. Forced Yellow Jacket errors led to an 18-13 ASU lead that forced a timeout for BHSU. Following the break, the Grizzlies outscored the Yellow Jackets 7-3 to finish the third.
 
Set Four (W, 28-26): After a 5-5 start to the fourth set, BHSU went up to an 7-5 lead thanks to forced errors on the Grizzlies. ASU slowly took the lead, eventually taking a 14-11 mark, but a three-score series from the Yellow Jackets once again tied the set 14-all. Both teams split the next 11 serves before ASU expanded to a three-point lead at 22-19. Down 23-19, the Yellow Jackets held on to lock the game up 24-24 after a Marx block on the right side of the net led to a forced ASU timeout. The Grizzlies recorded two unforced errors that kept the Yellow Jackets alive for a fifth set.
 
Set Five (L, 15-10): The Yellow Jackets faced a 6-1 deficit to start the extra set that expanded to a 9-2 ASU lead, forcing BHSU to use both timeouts to try and find their footing. A Hoopman kill, a Byrd block, and a Cerrone service ace inched the Yellow Jackets to a 9-6 deficit, but a 6-4 series was all ASU needed to secure the 3-2 victory at home.
 
Up Next
The Yellow Jackets return to the court tomorrow evening from Las Vegas, New Mexico for a matchup against the New Mexico Highlands Cowgirls at 5 p.m.