LAS VEGAS, N.M. – Black Hills State traveled for their lone road trip of the week to New Mexico to take on the NMHU Cowgirls on Friday night, falling to the Cowgirls in straight sets.  
 
The Yellow Jackets (5-15, 0-10 RMAC) were led by the offensive efforts of Abigail Renner and Audrey Brgoch, who secured 12 and 10 kills, respectively, with Renner leading with a .250 attack percentage and 13.0 total points for BHSU.
 
Brgoch's 10 kills helped the sophomore lead the team with a .320 clip against the Cowgirls, also finishing with 10.5 points.
 
Renner also co-led the team with two blocking assists, tying with teammate Alyson Louderback. She also led the team with 12 digs on the night, with Haedyn Rhoades scraping 11 off the deck.
 
Hannah Lamon aided in the BHSU attack with 21 assists, with the senior also getting on the net for a blocking assist and eight digs.
 
Set One (L, 25-13)
After starting even through the first four services, the Cowgirls took an 11-5 lead off a 10-3 series.
 
Scores from Renner and Brgoch helped the Yellow Jackets get going on offense, forcing an NMHU timeout and closing the gap to 16-9 on a 3-1 burst.
 
From here, both teams exchanged points until a 5-1 chunk from the Cowgirls brought the set to a 24-12 scoreboard, with a Brgoch kill being the final blow dealt by BHSU until a spike from NMHU put the set away.
 
Set Two (L, 25-20)
The set remained tight to begin the second frame, with both sides not creating much separation until a bad BHSU set and NMHU service ace kicked off a 4-1 run for the Cowgirls, granting them a 9-6 lead that later stretched to a 13-8 lead off another scoring push from NMHU.
 
BHSU, off the hands of Wellhoefer, Freeland, and Renner, began to claw back into the set, fighting off scoring plays from NMHU to bring the second set score to a slimmed 18-14 Cowgirl lead, forcing NMHU to take a timeout.
 
Out of the 30-second break, kills from Louderback and Freeland kept BHSU in range, but the Cowgirls were able to put up consecutive scoring chains to extend their lead to 23-18.
 
A kill from Renner, a slam from Freeland, and another point from Brgoch pulled the Yellow Jackets within four once again, 23-19, but a Freeland kill was the last push from BHSU as the Cowgirls were able to put the set away to avoid a BHSU comeback.
 
Set Three (L, 25-22)
Though NMHU started the third frame up 5-1, BHSU surfaced off a quick 3-0 burst to pull within one, later taking the lead on a pair of Brgoch kills and two unforced errors on the Cowgirls.
 
Both teams returned to back-and-forth scoring throughout the middle of set four, this time with BHSU holding the advantage. After a tying 12-12 score from the Cowgirls, the Yellow Jackets turned up the heat and laid down a 5-1 series that included three kills and a blocking effort from Cardenas and Freeland.
 
Following an NMHU timeout and score, Brgoch and Lamon put up two more on NMHU to stretch the lead to 19-14, but the Cowgirls regained their stride once more, throwing down four unanswered to force a BHSU timeout on a shrunken 21-20 Yellow Jacket lead.
 
Though the Yellow Jackets called a timeout, it was not enough to slow the momentum of the Cowgirls, who stretched the run to 8-0 to lead 24-21, with the fatal blow coming after a Brgoch kill served as the last gasp from the Yellow Jackets.
 
Up Next
The Yellow Jackets return to the Donald E. Young Center next Thursday, Oct. 26 to host the Western Colorado Mountaineers at 6 p.m.