Fairbanks, Alaska. – Yellow Jacket volleyball played in hard fought and gritty matches in their second day of competition at the Denali State Bank Ice Block Classic, dropping game one in four sets and game two in three.
 
Game One (L, 3-1)
Madison Hoopman would lead the Yellow Jacket offense with 18 kills and two service aces.
Karly Marx would also rack up two service aces as well as 47 assists.
Libero Haedyn Rhoades would get in the trenches with 34 digs and two serving aces of her own.
Aiyana Byrd (2), Hoopman, and Kindra Cerrone would all rack up at least one block on defense.
 
Set One (L, 27-25): Black Hills State would take the first lead of the game at 3-0, but Arkansas-Fort Smith would roar back with five unanswered to take a two-point lead. The Lions would take an 11-7 lead, but the Yellow Jackets would swing back and take a five-score run to lead once again. UAFS would respond with a four-score run of their own to tie the game at a nail-biting 23-23 score, forcing a BHSU timeout. The Yellow Jackets would continue to take it to UAFS, but the Lions would hold out long enough to take game one in extra serves.
 
Set Two (W, 25-23): The Yellow Jackets would again come out the gate hot on offense in set number two, going up to an early 5-1 lead over the Lions. BHSU would continue to pour it on and go up 10-1 before the Lions would start to show life on the offense. UAFS would go on a few scoring series of their own, slimming the Yellow Jacket lead to just 15-13. BHSU would ensure they didn't take the lead in the latter half of the set, shutting down a Lion comeback to even the series 1-1.
 
Set Three (L, 27-25): UAFS would be the team to take the early advantage after starting 3-0 in set three, but the Yellow Jackets would not be complacent, tacking on a four-score run to take their first lead of the set at 7-6. Both teams would duke it out with the Yellow Jackets taking the edge over the Lions. BHSU would take a 19-16 lead after a Byrd kill and two serving aces from Hoopman would force a UAFS timeout. The Yellow Jackets would not let off the throttle coming out of the timeout, scoring two more out of the break to take a five-point lead into another Lions timeout. UAFS would dig deep coming out of the break, bringing the game to a 22-20 score forcing BHSU into a timeout of their own. The game would lock up at 22-all and the Yellow Jackets would take their second timeout. The game would end up tied once again at 24-24, with the Lions escaping the Yellow Jackets in a 27-25 set three win.
 
Set Four (L, 25-16): Set four would start at a slower pace for both teams, with each side locking horns up to an 8-5 Lions lead. UAFS would continue to hold the lead through back and forth scoring with BHSU, but the Yellow Jackets would gain some momentum and be within one score after a Hoopman kill would put the game in a 14-13 score. The Lions would go on a massive 10-point run only interrupted by a service error, putting the fourth set out of reach for the Yellow Jackets.    
 
Game Two (L, 3-0)
Kindra Cerrone would lead the Yellow Jackets with 9 kills, two service aces, two blocks, and five digs.
Haedyn Rhoades would lead in digs with 26, also toting a service ace and two assists in game two.
Aiyana Byrd would tack on three more blocks for the Yellow Jacket defense.
Karly Marx would once again lead in assists with 22.
 
Set One (L, 25-13): Both teams would start the contests on even ground, sending call-and-response scores until the ranked No. 20 UAA would go on a four-score run to create a five-point gap, leading 10-5. The Seawolves would continue to take advantage of gaps in the Yellow Jacket defense, expanding to a 16-7 opening set lead. Alaska Anchorage would not let up and take set one.
 
Set Two (L, 25-20): In response to set one, the Yellow Jackets would come out on fire in a four-score run to start the set. The Yellow Jackets would hammer down and force a Seawolves timeout at a 10-3 lead. AAU would begin to start chipping away at the Yellow Jacket lead shortly after and would later make it a dicey game at a 15-15 tie. Both teams would continue to trade blows going down to the wire, but UAA would have enough momentum to finish the set on top.  
 
Set Three (L, 25-19): Set four would start with a Seawolves offense starting out quick, jumping to a 7-1 lead over the Yellow Jackets to start the game. BHSU would continue to fight back, climbing back into a 19-15 game. The Yellow Jackets would go for a late game push to tie it up, but UAA would continue to hold out the Yellow Jacket offense and take the third set.
 
Up Next: The Yellow Jackets will conclude their tournament play on Saturday night at 7 p.m., taking on the Florida Southern College Moccasins.