SPEARFISH, S.D.- The Black Hills State Yellow Jackets were unable to win their second straight home match up versus the Cowgirls after taking the win last year in A2 Arena. BHSU fell 3-0 to the Cowgirls and were unable to end the losing streak versus RMAC teams as BHSU continues to search for the second RMAC win of the season. Ellie Thomas once again had an incredible game with 21 digs.
 
QUICK DETAIL
Score: Black Hills State 0, New Mexico Highlands 3
Team Records: Black Hills State (5-13 (1-7 RMAC)), New Mexico Highlands (8-11 (3-5 RMAC))
Attendance: 189
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first set started back and forth, with both Highlands and BHSU going on early runs. NMHU took an early 3-1 lead before BHSU tied it at three, then the Cowgirls took a 6-4 lead before BHSU tied it at six and then BHSU won two of the next three to give them their first lead of the game at 8-7 before NMHU won 13 of the next 16 points to take a 20-11 lead. BHSU and NMHU would split the next ten points, with no team winning two in a row to give Highlands the 25-16 win and 1-0 match lead on a service error by Emily Freeland.
• The Cowgirls started the second set strong with a 5-2 start before BHSU used kills by Randi Wellhoefer, Freeland, and Izabel Abril to tie it up at 7-7. Highlands would win the next five points to take a 12-7 lead. The Yellow Jackets tried to close the gap by going on a 3-1 run to cut it to 14-11, but Highlands answered with three in a row to get it to 17-11. However, BHSU fought. Two kills by Wellhoefer, another by Mettler, and two aces by Sydnie Tuioti-Mariner got the Yellow Jackets tied with the Cowgirls at 17-17 after the 6-0 run. The two teams would go back and forth before Highlands won four of five points to win the second set 25-22 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
• The third set started off worse for the Green and Gold as Highlands won eight of the first ten points and despite BHSU winning four of six, back-to-back point wins by the Cowgirls kept the lead at six at 13-7. The Yellow Jackets won six of eight with two aces by Zoie Husman in a row, to get it to 15-13, but that was the closest they got to catching Highlands. NMHU would win ten of the next 13 points to make it 25-16 and give their team the 3-0 win over the Yellow Jackets.

 
BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Ellie Thomas: 21 digs, two assists
Sydnie Tuioti-Mariner: 11 assists, 5 digs, 2 aces
Emily Freeland: 6 kills, 8 digs
 
UP NEXT
Black Hills State will stay at home as they host a midweek RMAC game versus Chadron State this Tuesday at 6 PM in A2 Arena. The Yellow Jackets will be looking to get their second straight win over the Eagles and first conference win versus them.
  Read Full Article