BILLINGS, Mont. - Black Hills State women's volleyball competed in their final two matches of the MSU Billings' Yellowjacket Invitational on Saturday, walking out of Alterowitz Gymnasium with two victories over Minot State, 3-1, and UMary, 3-2.

Following the end of game two against UMary, senior Libero Haedyn Rhoades surpassed Lacy Stevens' career-digs record to become the all-time leader in career digs, with the senior logging her 1,851^st career dig against the Marauders. Stevens, who played with the team from 2012 to 2016, held the previous record of 1,838 digs.
 
The Yellow Jackets (3-1, 0-0) will now return home with their winning record to host the three-day Yellow Jacket Classic. Head Volleyball Coach Bree Davis stated that she looks forward to the opportunity to play in front of a home crowd next week.
 
"It was truly a treat to watch them put it to work this weekend," said Davis. "I am excited to get back in our gym and show our fans what we are about this year."
 
Truly a stark difference from last year, when the Yellow Jackets left the Rockhurst Invitational 1-3 to play in another road tournament in Alaska, where they dropped all four games in the Ice Block Classic. Davis and the ladies proved this weekend that better things are in store for the program in 2023.
 
"We have taken a lot of what we have learned in the last year and put it to work," said Davis, "We decided to not be afraid of things that are in front of us and just attack them. Our culture is getting stronger every day and the girls are believing in what they can do. I am just so proud of this group."
 
MATCH ONE (W, 3-1)
Audrey Brgoch and Abigail Renner ran the attack for BHSU in this one, with Brgoch slamming down 16 kills and a pair of service aces in the contest. Renner recorded 13 of her own as well as another service ace.

Senior Hannah Lamon cracked out a staggering eight service aces against the Beavers, the highest amount a Yellow Jacket player has recorded in four sets in the DII era, passing the likes of Amy O'Neill and Meghan Sipe who hit five aces in four sets during the 2012 season. Lamon also recorded three kills of her own and 36 assists in the match.
 
As a team, the Yellow Jackets recorded 15 aces against Minot State, which is the most the team has recorded in a four-set contest in the DII era. 
 
On the defense, Randi Wellhoefer led the team with two solo blocks and a block assist while Brgoch recorded one of each blocking stat. Alyson Louderback also played efficiently at the net with a pair of blocking assists. Haedyn Rhoades inched closer to the all-time BHSU dig record with another 20 digs against Minot State while serving up an ace herself.
 
Set One (W, 25-13)
After starting the match neck-and-neck with Minot State, the Yellow Jackets, aided by a trio of Hannah Lamon service aces, began to pull away with a 8-1 run over the Beavers to lead 14-6. Attacking errors from the Minot State side of the net opened another 8-2 run for BHSU to give the Yellow Jacket ladies the one-sided first-set victory. In the set, BHSU held Minot State to a -.036 attack percentage with nine errors.
 
Set Two (L, 25-23)
The Yellow Jackets were quick to take a 4-2 lead to start the second set, but Minot State found their groove and tallied a 7-1 run of their own to take their first lead of the day, 9-5. Rallying back from a pair of blocks from Wellhoefer and Emily Freeland, the Yellow Jackets surged back into a 10-all scoreboard.  
 
BHSU kept a brief lead following the charge, but MSU took it back and hovered over the Yellow Jackets for the remainder of the set. A service ace from Brgoch tied the set, 16-16, but another series from the Beavers stretched their lead to 21-17, looming a Minot State win.
 
A late run from the Yellow Jackets brought them to a 24-23 deficit to the Beavers, but Minot State managed to pin a spike just inside the top-left side of the court to escape with the narrow 25-23 victory.
 
Set Three (W, 25-19)
Neither side pulled away to begin the third set, with five tying scores and three lead changes panning out to a thin Minot State lead, 14-13. After spending much of the frame just underneath the Beavers, BHSU pulled into a 19-17 lead off a 5-1 rally that featured two more Lamon aces and two kills from Renner.
 
The Yellow Jackets only gave up two scores after the run, capping a dominant set three with a commanding spike from Freeland.
 
Set Four (W/L, 25-13)
A Brogch missile and block from Louderback and Brogch, along with an offensive error by the Beavers, led BHSU to take the first outright lead of the fourth set, 7-4. Later conducting a 6-1 series that was featured two Katie Bell aces, the Yellow Jackets enlarged their lead to 13-5.
 
The Green N' Gold continued to roll on this momentum, orchestrating another one-sided 6-0 run that saw BHSU lead 19-7. Minot State managed to slim the deficit to single points late in the set, but the Yellow Jackets had created more than enough wiggle room to add another tack to the season win column and start the day with a 3-1 victory.
 
MATCH TWO (W, 3-2)
UMary and BHSU put up a great fight in this match, with both teams combining for 18 total blocks and 24 total aces. The Marauders (2-2, 0-0 NSIC) finished with a .241 attack percentage while the Yellow Jackets (3-1, 0-0 RMAC) clocked out with a .214 clip.
 
Sophomore Emily Freeland dropped 20 kills on 39 attack attempts, averaging out a .385 clip and 23 points for the Yellow Jackets. She also dished out three service aces and went low for 15 digs.
 
Renner and Brgoch held the other double-digit kills on the stat sheet, putting up 15 and 14, respectively. Combined, the two ladies knocked down four service aces with Renner recording a team-leading two solo blocks against UMary.
 
Rhoades led the team with 29 digs in the contest and led from the service line with four service aces of her own. As a team, the Yellow Jackets dished 13 aces, which tied for the team's highest ace count in a five-set match in the DII era, tying a contest against Westminster in 2019 where the Yellow Jackets also recorded 13.
 
Set One (L, 25-20)
BHSU came out swinging to begin match two, taking an early 7-3 lead over the Marauders, who were able to close the gap quickly and tie the set back up, 9-9. UMary took charge down the line with a 7-2 burst to take a three-score lead over the Yellow Jackets, 18-15.
 
The Yellow Jackets were able to put up points throughout the set, but UMary took advantage of the lead and traded blows with BHSU until they took the first set by five. Both squads hit well in the frame, with UMary holding a .361 clip while the Yellow Jackets maintained a .324 attack percentage.
 
Set Two (W, 25-20)
Coming into set two hot, the Yellow Jackets went up 3-0 to begin and later screamed ahead to an 8-3 lead off three service aces from Freeland. Renner and Brgoch continued to help run the score up for BHSU as the Yellow Jackets extended their lead to 15-7.
 
The BHSU ladies continued to pour it on, stretching to a double-digit lead before UMary built up an 8-2 rally towards the end, bringing the Yellow Jackets to call a timeout at a 22-19 scoreboard. A Marauder service error gave BHSU the opportunity to knock down a pair of kills, putting away a UMary comeback and evening the match at 1-1.
 
Set Three (L, 25-19)
UMary opened the third set with an explosive 6-1 run over BHSU, maintaining their hold on the set all the way to a 14-8 scoreboard. The Yellow Jackets began to strike back, bringing themselves to a four-point deficit.
 
A heavy net defense from the Marauders, however, kept BHSU from overcoming the deficit and allowed them to create a seven-score gap. Down 23-15, a Louderback and Lamon block with a service ace from Brgoch forced a UMary timeout, but the Marauders were able to keep BHSU held down to take a six-point win heading to the fourth set.
 
Set Four (W, 25-23)
Brgoch, Freeland, and Randi Wellhoefer led the way for BHSU's early 3-1 lead at the beginning of the set, with the Yellow Jacket ladies keeping UMary at bay until the Marauders orchestrated three unanswered to tie the set 6-all. After many traded blows from both teams, a 5-1 run from UMary forced a BHSU timeout and a 17-15 deficit for BHSU to climb back from.
 
Two more slams from Wellhoefer brought BHSU within one once again, with more points off a Renner block and kill led to another tying score. A forced attack error, kill, and bad UMary set gave BHSU the 22-19 go-ahead score.

UMary did not let up on the fight, battling with BHSU to a 24-23 score, leading to what was a die-hard final rally as a spike from Brgoch put set four to bed and kept BHSU alive to force a fifth set.
 
Set Five (W, 15-11)
Entering the extra frame, both teams slugged their way to a 3-3 score, but BHSU laid down an 8-1 series that helped them soar to a 10-4 lead before UMary struck back with five unanswered of their own.
 
BHSU's eighth block of the game and a Hannah Lamon ace gave BHSU a three-point lead down the stretch, with a ball handling error and a commanding spike from Freeland stamping the victory for BHSU, keeping them flawless on the day and 3-1 on the young season. 
 
Up Next
Volleyball returns home for the first time this season on Thursday, Sept. 7, to kick off the 2023 Yellow Jacket Classic with a match against Northern State at 7 p.m.