LAKEWOOD, Colo. – The Black Hills State University volleyball team fell in their final road match of the season on Saturday afternoon as they dropped a 3-0 decision to Colorado Christian. The Cougars earned the win in the CCU Event Center by set scores of 25-10, 25-17, and 25-22, as they used timely scoring runs of 9-1, 8-1, and 5-2 at the end of each respective frame.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 0, Colorado Christian 3
Team Records: Black Hills State 5-19 (1-11 RMAC), Colorado Christian 15-9 (7-5 RMAC)
Attendance: 130
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Following a pair of kills by Randi Wellhoefer and Carsyn Mettler that gave Black Hills State a brief 2-1 lead, Colorado Christian responded with four unanswered points for a 5-2 advantage early in set one. A kill by Emily Freeland brought BHSU back within a point at 6-5, however the Cougars opened up the margin with an 8-0 scoring run to take a 14-5 lead. The Green & Gold momentarily stalled the momentum midway through the frame by taking four of six points, but CCU ended set one with a 9-1 run to earn a 25-10 victory in the frame and take a 1-0 lead in the match.
• After a service ace gave the opening point of set two to Colorado Christian, a trio of double blocks by Wellhoefer and Mettler helped Black Hills State take a 5-2 advantage in the early stages of the frame. In response, the Cougars turned in a 9-2 scoring run to take an 11-7 lead after a pair of kills. The Yellow Jackets battled to keep the set close as a 4-1 scoring run and a 5-1 scoring run cut the deficit to a point on two occasions, 12-11 and 17-16 respectively. CCU, however, was able to close set two with an 8-1 run to earn a 25-17 win in the frame to take a 2-0 match lead.
• Thanks to a trio of kills by Mettler, Black Hills State jumped out to another early lead in set three with a 4-2 advantage. The frame, which was a back-and-forth battle between the teams, consisted of eight lead changes and never saw a lead of more than three points by either team. The Yellow Jackets saw their largest lead of the set take place at 9-6 as Abigail Renner sent down a kill, while the Cougars largest lead took place during a scoring run at the end of the match. CCU ended set three on a 5-2 run following a tie at 20-20 as they went on to win 25-22 and take the match 3-0.
• Colorado Christian held the advantage in points (60.0-40.0), kills (40-31), aces (8-0), blocks (12-9), assists (39-28), and digs (57-54).

BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Carsyn Mettler: 12 kills (.207 attack percentage), 10 digs, 5 blocks
Sydnie Tuioti-Mariner: 26 assists, 13 digs, 3 blocks
Ellie Thomas: 12 digs, 1 assist
Randi Wellhoefer: 4 kills, 2 digs, 1 assist, 7 blocks
 
UP NEXT
Black Hills State returns home to Spearfish for the final weekend of regular season play, beginning with a Friday, November 15, match against Colorado Mesa. The Yellow Jackets and Mavericks are slated for a 2 p.m. first serve inside A2 Arena.
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