Black Hills State University women's volleyball is set to host the inaugural 2023 Yellow Jacket Classic, which is scheduled to start on Thursday, Sept. 7 and run through Saturday, Sept. 9.
 
The tournament will feature 12 matchups between six teams from four different conferences: the hosting BHSU (3-1, 0-0 RMAC), Northern State (3-1, 0-0 NSIC), MSU Billings (2-2, 0-0 GNAC), South Dakota Mines (3-1, 0-0 RMAC), UMary (2-2, 0-0 NSIC), and Texas A&M-Kingsville (4-0, 0-0 LSC).
 
Thursday night will serve as the tournament opener and pit the Yellow Jackets against the Wolves of Northern State, with first serve slated for 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, will be the first full day of the tournament with the first game starting at 8 a.m.
 
BHSU will also be featured in two matchups on Friday. First, the Yellow Jackets will go up against MSU Billings at 2 p.m. before wrapping day one up with a 'Yellowjacket Invitational' rematch versus UMary at 6 p.m.
 
On Saturday, Sept. 9, BHSU will play in their lone match of the second day against Texas A&M-Kingsville, which is slated to start at 5 p.m. and serve as the tournament finale.
 
The Yellow Jackets return home for the first time this season after a hot start at the MSU Billings' Yellowjacket Invitational. On day one, BHSU took their only loss to Lubbock Christian, 3-1, before they flipped the script and secured their first season victory over the Savage Storm, 3-1, to finish the first day even.
 
On the second day of the tournament, the Yellow Jackets secured wins in both games on the Saturday slate, defeating Minot State 3-1 before battling a five-set war with UMary, beating the Marauders, 3-2.
 
Over the weekend, BHSU's senior libero Haedyn Rhoades became the all-time digs leader in BHSU program history, recording her 1,851^st dig against UMary. Heading into the YellowJacket Classic, Rhoades leads the RMAC in total digs (95) and digs/set (5.59).
 
Senior setter Hannah Lamon posted big numbers from behind the service line, tacking on eight aces against Minot State to help bump the team total to 41 across four games. Lamon currently sits third in the conference in total service aces (12) and aces/set (0.71).
 
Abigail Renner spearheaded the BHSU attack at the Yellowjacket Invite as she threw down 62 kills in her 14 sets on the floor, landing her fourth in the RMAC in kills/set (3.65) and fourth in points/game (4.03). Renner posted a season-high 19 kills in her play against Southeastern Okla last Friday.
 
At the net, Randi Wellhoefer and Alyson Louderback recorded 12 and 11 total blocks, respectively, with Wellhoefer securing six solo blocks and Louderback reigning in nine block assists to serve as team-leading totals.
 

BLACK HILLS STATE vs. Northern State  THURSDAY, SEPT. 7 // 7 P.M. // SPEARFISH, S.D. // DONALD E. YOUNG CENTER Live Stream / Live Stats / Tournament Page

After dropping game one at the Blossom Classic in Monticello, Arkansas to Maryville University last Friday, the Wolves went on to finish the tournament with a 3-1 record, clean sweeping the likes of Arkansas Monticello, Truman State, and Christian Brothers University.

Morissen Samuels, the Wolves' freshman right-side hitter, led the NSU attack with a weekend total of 46 kills and a .308 clip to go with it. Off to a hot start in her collegiate career, Samuels also leads her team in total points (55) and kills per set (3.29)
 
Abby Brooks will be another Wolf to watch out for on Thursday as the sophomore defensive specialist leads the team with 12 total blocks on the season, along with teammate Keri Walker who is right behind Brooks with 10 blocks of her own.
 
Both teams haven't met in nearly eight years, with the last conflict between the Yellow Jackets and the Wolves taking place on Sept. 12, 2015, when NSU defeated BHSU in straight sets. Dating back to 1977, both teams are tied 11-11 in their all-time series.
 

BLACK HILLS STATE vs. MSU BILLINGS  FRIDAY, SEPT. 8 // 2 P.M. // SPEARFISH, S.D. // DONALD E. YOUNG CENTER Live Stream / Live Stats / Tournament Page

 
After hosting the Yellowjacket Invite last weekend, MSUB heads to Spearfish on an even 2-2 season record, with the rival Yellowjackets defeating Minot State and Southeastern Oklahoma, 3-2 and 3-1, respectively. MSUB's two losses came from their season opener against UMary, 3-1, and Lubbock Christian in a thrilling five-set match, 3-2, in the tournament's final match. 
 
The Jackets are led by eighth-year Head Coach Casey (Williams) Bonner along with the on-court leadership of senior Kennedy Juranek, hot-handed senior middle-blocker Paiten Langston, and five other returning players who look to right the ship of the team's previous 7-20 campaign in 2022.
 
Dating back to their first clash in 1986, MSUB holds an 8-0 record over BHSU, with the last conflict between both squads taking place on Sept. 3, 2021. In that game, MSUB defeated BHSU in straight sets.
 

BLACK HILLS STATE vs. UMARY  FRIDAY, SEPT. 8 // 6 P.M. // SPEARFISH, S.D. // DONALD E. YOUNG CENTER Live Stream / Live Stats / Tournament Page

 
As another team heading to the Donald E. Young Center from the Yellowjacket Invite, UMary walked out of Alterowitz Gym with a 2-2 season record, picking up wins over MSU Billings and Southeastern, 3-1 and 3-0.
 
Marauder's outside hitter Ally Gruber will be another player for the Yellow Jackets to hold down on Saturday as she was one of the top performers for UMary last weekend. The senior out of Belgrade, Minnesota finished the weekend as the leader in kills with 43 on an efficient 0.237 hitting percentage.
 
Gruber also reeled in the second most digs on the team with 49 and was one of eight Marauders with multiple service aces. For her efforts, Gruber found herself ranked 14^th in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in kills per set (3.07) and 17^th in digs/set (3.50).
 
The Yellow Jackets and Marauders both faced off on Saturday night in the second-to-last game of the Yellowjacket Invite. In five great sets of volleyball, BHSU moved past the Marauders in a 15-11 finish that set the stage for a rematch under the lights of the Young Center, with UMary still winless against the Yellow Jackets since 2012 at a 0-6 record.
 

BLACK HILLS STATE vs. TEXAS A&m-KINGSVILLE  SATURDAY, SEPT. 9 // 5 P.M. // SPEARFISH, S.D. // DONALD E. YOUNG CENTER Live Stream / Live Stats / Tournament Page

 
Last up on the Yellow Jackets' slate is the undefeated Javelinas of Texas A&M-Kingsville. As hosts of the TAMUK Invitational in Kingsville, Texas last weekend, the Javelinas outscored opponents 12-3 across their four wins over Ouachita Baptist, CSU Pueblo, New Mexico Highlands, and a five-set victory over a Quincy University team that received votes on the AVCA Coaches' Poll last week.
 
TAMUK came into the 2023 season off a successful 20-10 campaign in 2022 that saw the Javelinas compete in the first round of the Lone Star Conference tournament, falling to the then number-four-seeded UT Tyler in five sets. Coming into this year, TAMUK was voted into the top five teams in the LSC and their hot start proved they are ready to run it back.
 
In a stacked roster that features six players who recorded double-digit kills last weekend, senior outside hitter Jackie Alanis stands out as the leader of the Javelina offense, with the 5'9" McAllen, Texas native boasting 44 kills and a .412 attacking percentage in the early-goings of the season. She ranks fifth in the LSC's hitting percentage column and is 12^th in kills/set (2.93).
 
This tournament finale bout will mark the first time both teams have shared the court together.