DENVER, Colo. – The Black Hills State University volleyball team took to the road for the first time in three weeks with No. 2 MSU Denver awaiting them, however despite a strong battle the Yellow Jackets were unable to upend the Roadrunners in a 3-0 defeat in the Auraria Event Center. MSUD secured their tenth sweep of season with set wins of 25-23, 25-18, and 25-17 as they used significant scoring runs to overcome BHSU leads of 17-10 in the first frame and 11-8 in the third frame.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 0, No. 2 MSU Denver 3
Team Records: Black Hills State 4-13 (0-7 RMAC), No. 2 MSU Denver 15-1 (6-0 RMAC)
Attendance: 131
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Black Hills State got out to a quick start out of the gates with a 6-1 scoring run that was sparked by a block by Brooke Miller and Randi Wellhoefer. MSU Denver slowly chipped away at the Yellow Jacket lead, drawing within a point (10-9) with an 8-4 run, however BHSU answered with a 7-1 scoring run to push their lead to seven points (17-10). Black Hills State would be unable to close out the set win over the nation's No. 2 team as the Roadrunners ended the frame on a 15-6 run as MSUD earned the 25-23 victory to take 1-0 lead in the match.
• The momentum carried over into the beginning of set two for MSU Denver as they started the frame with a 5-1 run. The scoring run was momentarily halted with a mini 3-1 run for Black Hills State that saw a kill by Abigail Renner cut the deficit to 6-4. The Roadrunners then opened up their lead with a 7-2 scoring run to push the margin to seven points (13-6) before it came to an end on a kill by Miller. BHSU drew as close as four points (14-10) after a MSUD attack error, however MSU Denver maintained their lead during the back-and-forth action and edged out a 25-18 win in the frame to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
• Black Hills State responded to an early 4-1 MSU Denver advantage with four unanswered points as a block by Wellhoefer gave the Yellow Jackets a 5-4 lead. The Roadrunners responded with a mini 3-1 run that briefly gave them the lead back, however another 5-1 BHSU run regained an 11-8 lead for the Green & Gold after a kill by Miller. Just like in the first set, MSU Denver strung together a significant scoring run to seize control of the frame, earning the 25-17 win in the set with a 17-6 scoring run.
• MSU Denver held the advantage in points (64.0-35.0), kills (54-27), aces (4-2), assists (51-25), and digs (47-32), while the teams were even with six blocks apiece. 

BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Carsyn Mettler: 7 kills (.462 attack percentage), 1 assist, 1 block
Abigail Renner: 7 kills (.375 attack percentage), 7 digs, 2 aces, 1 block
Sydnie Tuioti-Mariner: 15 assists, 2 kills, 1 dig
Ellie Thomas: 14 digs, 2 assists
Randi Wellhoefer: 6 blocks, 2 kills, 2 digs
 
UP NEXT
Black Hills State concludes their trip to the Denver metro area with a Saturday match-up at Colorado School of Mines at 5 p.m. in Lockridge Arena in Golden, Colorado.
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