Black Hills State volleyball will play their final 2023 home matchups at the Donald E. Young Center this Friday and Saturday night, playing host to the Chadron State Eagles and Colorado Christian Cougars.
 
Friday night's matchup against Chadron State (12-10, 5-5 RMAC) is set for a 6 p.m. start time while Saturday's contest against CCU (10-12, 5-5 RMAC) will also begin at 6 p.m., following the end of football.
 
To help break the volleyball attendance record of 1,117, all fans who buy tickets to Saturday's football game against Adams State will receive free entrance to the volleyball game, with beer available for purchase inside the Young Center to go along with the matchup against the Cougars.
 
The Yellow Jackets (5-17, 0-10) head into the weekend following a pair of heavy-hitting battles from the previous week's RMAC non-conference power pod. Despite strong showings from the Yellow Jacket offense, BHSU fell to Western Colorado and Westminster, 3-1.
 
Though BHSU fell to the Mountaineers on Thursday night, the Yellow Jackets finished the game with a .217 attack percentage as a team. Abigail Renner led the fight from BHSU, claiming her eighth double-double on the year with 20 kills and 10 digs. Her two solo blocks in that contest also tied her career high for solo blocks in one match.
 
BHSU showcased strong perseverance once more against Westminster on Saturday morning. In the second set of the match, the Yellow Jackets completed an impressive comeback victory after facing a 19-14 deficit, where BHSU opened up an 11-2 run to take the second frame and tie the match score, 1-1.
 
In the same set, Randi Wellhoefer and Renner both held four kills to lead the team in the frame while six other Yellow Jackets scored via kill as well. The team finished with a .214 clip in the frame, along with a pair of service aces and two blocks.
 
Heading into their final matchups at home, BHSU is looking to snap a nine-game losing streak and secure their first conference wins of 2023.
 

BLACK HILLS STATE vs. CHADRON STATE  FRIDAY, NOV. 3 // 6 P.M. // SPEARFISH, S.D. // DONALD E. YOUNG CENTER Live Stream / Live Stats / Tickets

 
Following the CSC pod matchups from September, the Eagles have gone 3-5 leading up to this week. After hosting the non-conference matchups in Chadron, CSC traveled to the Rocky Mountain State and split a weekend after sweeping UC-Colorado Springs and dropping a match to Regis, 3-1.
 
The Eagles returned home and split another pair of matches to CSU Pueblo (L, 3-1) and Adams State (W, 3-0) before taking a brief road trip to Grand Juncion, Colorado to compete against Colorado Mesa, where they dropped a tight, 3-2 match.
 
After falling to Westminster in five sets the next week, they traveled to ASU's non-conference pod and went 1-1 once again, defeating New Mexico Highlands in four sets before going to battle with the hosting Grizzlies and dropping another 3-2 thriller.
 
Before heading to Spearfish for Friday's matchup with BHSU, CSC will host Colorado Christian on Wednesday, Nov. 1 at 6 p.m.
 
The Eagles are currently tied with Colorado Christian and UC-Colorado Springs for fifth at 5-5 in the conference, with Wednesday's matchup. With the RMAC post-season around the corner, the Eagles will be looking to stay in the top eight to claim a playoff spot by season's end.
 
Boasting a top-five blocking defense, the Eagles hold 157.5 total blocks on the year and average 1.92 per set, being led at the net by sophomore middle hitter Bella Adams. Adams ranks eighth in the RMAC in blocks as she has tallied 16 solo blocks and 60 assisted blocks (46.0 total). Aiyana Fujiyama is another player to watch for on defense as she tails behind her teammate with 14 solo and 40 assisted blocks on the year.
 
In September's matchup against BHSU, the Eagles claimed a 3-0 victory at home. BHSU, however, holds a 14-11 all-time record against CSC.
 

BLACK HILLS STATE vs. COLORADO CHRISTIAN  SATURDAY, NOV. 4 // 6 P.M. // SPEARFISH, S.D. // DONALD E. YOUNG CENTER Live Stream / Live Stats / Tickets

 
Following a big pair of matchups against Chadron State on Wednesday night and a trip to Rapid City to face off against South Dakota Mines, the CCU Cougars will head to Spearfish for the first matchup between these two squads since Sept. 30 of last season.
 
The Cougars are heading into the new week off a tough pair of matchups from the previous week as CCU began a five-game road streak last week in a non-conference pod against Colorado Mines and CSU Pueblo. In Golden, Colorado, CCU was swept by the Orediggers before taking a 3-1 victory over the CSU Pueblo Thunderwolves.
 
Like Chadron State, the Cougars are clinging onto a three-way tie for fifth in the RMAC with the Eagles and UC-Colorado Springs.
 
CCU holds an upper-middle-ranked offense in the RMAC picture: they are seventh in points (averaging 16.10 per set and 1,288 on the season), sixth in hitting percentage (.240 clip through this week), and seventh in kills (12.69 per set, 1015 total in 2023). Defensively, they are more the same as the Cougars average 1.81 blocks per frame and are last in digs at 12.84 per set.
 
Sophomore Middle Hitter Renee Phillips and Redshirt Junior Libby Goodman are the top scorers for the Cougars this season: Phillips sits sixth in the RMAC with a .328 hitting percentage through the 2023 season while Goodman ranks in the top three in kills, averaging 3.65 per set and totaling 197 on the year.
 
In his seventh season as the Head Coach for CCU, Bobby Blanken is looking to help guide the team to their second consecutive winning season and guide them back to the RMAC playoffs. Last season, CCU finished with a 15-13 record but fell to Colorado Mesa in the first round.
 
The Cougars were victorious in last season's September meeting as CCU defeated BHSU in Lakewood in straight sets. Since 2011, the Cougars are 12-3 over the Yellow Jackets.