COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. | Denver, Colo. – Black Hills State volleyball heads Southwest to the Rocky Mountain State this weekend for their first pair of RMAC matchups of the season.
 
The Yellow Jackets (4-4, 0-0 RMAC) will first head for Colorado Springs on Friday, Sept. 15, for the RMAC regular season debut against the UC-Colorado Springs Mountain Lions for a 6 p.m. match. BHSU will then travel to the Mile-High City to take on Regis on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 3 p.m.
 
Last weekend, BHSU hosted the inaugural Yellow Jacket Classic from Thursday through Saturday, with the Yellow Jackets panning out a 1-3 record which included a three-set comeback win over Montana State Billings, 3-2, on Friday.
 
Audrey Brgoch, the Yellow Jackets' sophomore right-side outside hitter, was nominated to the Yellow Jacket Classic All-tournament Team on Saturday night, thanks to solid performances in the Yellow Jackets' two games on Friday afternoon. Brogch combined for 31 kills, four service aces, and seven digs against MSUB and UMary, walking away with 35 points on the day and a combined .225 attacking percentage clip on Saturday.
 
Entering the RMAC regular season, the Yellow Jackets were picked to finish 14^th in the conference and currently sit sixth.
 

BLACK HILLS STATE vs. UC-Colorado Springs FRIDAY, SEPT. 15 // 6 P.M. // COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. // GALLOGLY EVENTS CENTER Live Stream / Live Stats

 
The Mountain Lions (2-6, 0-0 RMAC) began their season at the Concordia University Irvine Golden Eagle Invitational, which saw UCCS paly in four games between Sept. 1 and Sept. 2. In the four games of the tournament, the Mountain Lions dropped all games against Cal State East Bay (3-2), Azusa Pacific (3-0), California State-Dominguez Hills (3-1), and Concordia (Calif.) (3-1).  
 
Last week, UCCS hosted the Mountain Lion Classic from Thursday through Saturday and won two of their four games, picking up wins against Western Oregon (3-1) and Bemidji State (3-2). Before hosting BHSU, the Mountain Lions will play South Dakota Mines on Thursday, Sept. 14 at 6 p.m.
 
Despite the tough start to the season, UCCS still ranks sixth in the conference in hitting percentage (.202) and in points per game (15.69) while runners-up in the RMAC in service aces per tilt (1.69).
 
In last season's meeting with UCCS, BHSU fell to the Mountain Lions in straight sets at home, with UCCS holding a 12-3 record over the Yellow Jackets since BHSU entered the conference.
 

BLACK HILLS STATE vs. NO. 16 REGIS  SATURDAY, SEPT. 16 // 3 P.M. // DENVER, COLO. // REGIS FIELD HOUSE Live Stream / Live Stats

 
The defending runner-up of last season's conference championships, Regis University (5-3, 0-0) picked up where they left off last season as they currently rank within the top-five teams of the RMAC and 16th in the AVCA Coaches' Polls heading into regular season play.
 
Regis started 2023 at the California State - San Bernardino Tournament from Thursday, Aug. 31 until Saturday, Sept. 2 and split the weekend with a lineup of ranked opponents. On day one, the Rangers secured two wins against No. 15 Western Washington and No. 9 California State – Los Angeles, 3-1 and 3-2, respectively, before dropping two to the No. 19 Cali State San Bernardino (3-1) and RV Central Washington University (3-0).
 
After they returned home to Denver, however, RU hosted the two-day Colorado Premier Challenge and once again had impressive outings over nationally ranked opponents, with wins over RV University of Texas – Tyler (3-0), No. 16 Cali State - Los Angeles (3-0), and RV Ferris State (3-1).
 
Last season's meting between the two squads resulted in a Regis win over the Yellow Jackets from Denver, with the Rangers taking a 3-0 win over BHSU.
 
Notes

• Senior Libero Haedyn Rhoades leads the RMAC in digs/set on the season, with the Wyoming native sitting at 5.85 per set and a grand total 193 digs in the early goings of 2023.
• Senior setter Hannah Lamon is a top-ten server in the conference heading into regular season play, recording 15 aces on the season and 0.45 per set. Lamon also ranks fifth in the RMAC in assists with 9.73 per set.
• Audrey Brgoch joins Lamon in the top-15 in the RMAC in service aces on the season, with the sophomore outside hitter holding a 0.42 clip and 14 total aces. As a team, BHSU ranks fourth in the stat category with a team-average 1.82 per set. 
• Abigail Renner leads the Yellow Jackets and ranks sixth in the RMAC in kills per set (3.48) and fourth in points per set (3.97, 131 total points).