Black Hills State volleyball played host to the UCCS Mountain Lions on Friday night, with the Yellow Jackets keeping their sets close but falling to them in three straight.  
 
The Yellow Jackets (4-19, 3-12 RMAC) combined for a .086 clip against the Mountain Lions, with Kindra Cerrone and Madison Hoopman leading the Yellow Jacket scoring. Cerrone held a team leading 12.5 points on 11 kills and a service ace, while Hoopman knocked down 10 kills for 10 total points.
 
BHSU only held two blocks tonight, with Aiyana Byrd holding a block solo and sharing the second recorded block with Cerrone. Karly Marx held 28 assists and a single kill while Haedyn Rhoades recorded 18 digs and one kill against UCCS. Brooke Franklin held two of the four total service aces on the night as the Yellow Jackets recorded no service errors in the contest.
 
Set One (L, 25-18): After a 2-0 start for the Yellow Jackets that included a Franklin service ace, BHSU errors and a UCCS kill put the Mountain Lions up by one. BHSU tied the set up twice in the early goings, but UCCS mounted a 5-2 scoring series to take an extended 12-7 lead over the Yellow Jackets.
 
The Mountain Lions played tough at the net as they secured four of their five team blocks in the first. Despite the Yellow Jackets exchanging blows with UCCS to attempt a comeback in the first, a three-score series down the stretch gave the Mountain Lions enough momentum to take the first set by seven.
 
Set Two (L, 25-23): Set two proved to be the most contested frame of the night as the set saw 11 tying scores paired with four lead changes, throughout. UCCS started with a block against Renner, but three unforced errors put BHSU on top 3-1.
 
Both teams went punch for punch in scoring until a four-score offensive push from the Yellow Jackets gave them a 14-11 separation. However, after the Mountain Lions trickled back to a 17-15 deficit, they went on to put up four in a row to take the lead at 20-18.
 
BHSU was able to tie the set up once again at 21-all, but a kill and a pair of errors in the Mountain Lions' favor put BHSU in a tough spot. Hoopman put up two kills to keep the Yellow Jackets alive at the match point, but UCCS narrowly avoided a 24-24 tie to escape with a win in the second.
 
Set Three (L, 25-20): BHSU came out of the gun to a 3-0 lead that was backed a bad Mountain Lion set and a pair of kills courtesy of Hoopman and Cerrone. The Yellow Jackets maintained a one-to-two-point lead through the middle of the third and even secured a four-point rally to extend their lead 14-8.
 
UCCS built up momentum as they slowly crept back into the game and later scored on a seven-point sequence that included three blocks, three Yellow Jacket errors, and a kill to go up 20-17. Byrd and Hoopman both put up kills late, but UCCS held on to take the match in the third.
 
Up Next
The Yellow Jackets play in their final home game of the 2022 season against CSU Pueblo on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 5:30 p.m.