CHADRON, Neb. – Black Hills State volleyball played their season finale Saturday evening against the Eagles of Chadron State, with the Yellow Jackets completing a seven-point comeback in the fifth set to take a 3-2 win over CSC.
"Walking out knowing that the seniors left everything out there filled my heart," said Coach Bree Davis. "They led us and carried us in every single moment of the match."
Madison Hoopman led the Yellow Jacket attack with a season-high 21 kills against CSC, finishing with a season-high efficiency of .541. She also held a season-high in digs as she recorded 19. As a team, the Yellow Jackets recorded a .288 clip, the highest recorded clip since their match against Colorado Christian on Sept. 30, where they hit a .230.
From behind the service line, Kindra Cerrone led the team with three service aces, with Hoopman recording a pair of her own. Mariah Robinson, Haedyn Rhoades, and Karly Marx each held a single ace to bring the team total to eight.
Cerrone (15 kills, .196 percentage), Robinson (13 kills, .455 percentage), and Abigail Renner (13 kills, .175 percentage) held their own tonight as the Yellow Jackets combined for 81 total kills recorded versus 68 Chadron State team kills. Marx finished the game with a career-high 58 assists versus the Eagles while boasting a kill.
CSC held a dozen blocks over BHSU, who only recorded three. Aiyana Byrd assisted in all three blocks while Cerrone and Renner each assisted her at least once. Haedyn Rhoades' 33 digs put her one shy of tying her season-high of 34, which she put up against Arkansas Fort-Smith on Sept. 2.
Set One (W, 25-22): The Yellow Jackets started the match with a 4-1 lead over the Eagles, but five scores in a row from CSC turned the tables to a 6-4 lead in favor of the Eagles. After both teams exchanged serves, Hoopman and Renner knocked down a pair of kills to tie the game up at 7-all.
A five-point run by BHSU put the Yellow Jackets up to a 15-11 advantage that forced a CSC timeout. Out of the break, a 9-2 series from the Eagles put them back up 20-17 heading into the closing moments of set one.
Not deterred, BHSU put up another four-score spurt to regain a 22-21 lead. The Eagles kept fighting to tie the set, but BHSU did not surrender the lead and took the first tally in the match.
Set Two (L, 25-18): The Eagles took an early 4-1 lead over BHSU and stayed ahead until the Yellow Jackets crept back into a 9-9 tie. CSC slowly regained separation, later notching a three-score run to take a 20-16 lead. Coming out of a BHSU timeout, CSC claimed a 5-2 series to retire set two.
Set Three (L, 25-15): After starting the third set 3-3, a CSC block opened up a three-score series to give the Eagles a 6-3 lead over the Yellow Jackets. BHSU errors kept the Eagles at an advantage through much of the set.
Off a block, kill, and three Yellow Jacket errors, CSC expanded their lead to 14-8 before Robinson and Hoopman began putting up answers for BHSU. A 7-4 series gave CSC the 21-12 scoreboard they needed to finish the set on top.
Set Four (25-18): The Yellow Jackets took command early, taking a 9-4 lead by the first CSC timeout of the set. Although CSC put up four in a row, BHSU answered with four offensive points of their own to force another CSC timeout at a 14-8 advantage. Despite the Eagles' ability to output points in spurts, BHSU held on to force set number five.
Set Five (W, 17-15): Set five proved to be an absolute nailbiter, despite CSC claiming a 9-2 lead to start. After forcing an Eagle timeout with a 4-1 series to put the scoreboard at 10-6, both teams exchanged blows until unforced errors, a BHSU block, and a Hoopman kill knotted the game up at 12-a-piece.
Neither side caved in as three tying scores led to a 15-15 tie. Cerrone and Renner were the Yellow Jackets that put up the daggering scores that put CSC away, giving the Yellow Jackets a narrow 3-2 win to put the cap on 2022.
-BHSUAthletics.com-
