SPEARFISH, S.D.- Black Hills State Volleyball (0-4) will continue their season on the road in Minot, North Dakota, where the Yellow Jackets will face a familiar foe in UMary, Minot State, and two Canadian based universities in Brandon and Manitoba. The Jackets will be looking to get their first win of the season this weekend after falling in each of their first four games at the Eagle Classic last week
 
Know Before You Go:
 
Date/Time/Location: Brandon (CAN): Thursday, September 11 at 8 AM MST. UMary: Thursday, September 11 at 4 PM MST. Minot State: Friday, September 12 at 9 AM MST. Manitoba (CAN): Friday, September 12 at 3 PM MST. All games will be played in the Minot State Dome in Minot, N.D.
Tickets: The Beaver Classic pass will gain the holder entry for each match during the Beaver Classic's two-day schedule. They can be purchased at the link above. It will be $21 for an adult and $16 for seniors 55 and older and children ages 12-18.
NSIC Network: You can tune in to all 1^st  International Bank Homecoming Classic games for free on the NSIC Network at the link above.
 
BLACK HILLS STATE STORYLINES

• Black Hills State entered this tournament 0-4 after failing to record a win at the Eagle Classic, however, the Yellow Jackets showed a lot of grit in each of their four matches and only lost in three sets once. They were able to pull two set wins versus Augustana, one against UMary, and won their first ever set versus #25 Northern State since joining D2.  
• The Yellow Jackets were able to capitalize on a few key areas and are ranked seventh in the RMAC in total blocks, eight in attacks attempted, and eighth in total assists, which we are also ranked top 100 in the nation in.
• Black Hills State was predicted to finish 15^th in the conference in the preseason RMAC Coaches' Poll after finishing 15^th in the conference last season.
• Emily Freeland was a star for Black Hills State last weekend; she became the first Yellow Jackets since 2013 to have 20 kills in a season opener and then followed that up with 15 kills in game two. She ended up finishing the tournament with 53 kills which puts her in a tie for third in the RMAC and 45^th in the country in total kills. She ranks 34^th in the country and second in the RMAC in total attacks with 157. She also ranks fifth in the RMAC in kills per set (3.31), points per set (3.56), and sixth in attacks per set 9.81. She also had 26 digs last weekend along with five blocks.
• Randi Wellhoefer returned for her graduate season and after being a strong middle for BHSU, will be making the transition to Outside Hitter. Wellhoefer was moved to fully outside in the final two games of the Eagle Classic and led the team in kills in both matches with 22. She is currently second on the team with 32 kills and had seven total blocks over the four games.
• Libero Ellie Thomas is coming off a solid weekend at the Eagle Classic where she had 57 digs and five aces. Her total digs ranked fifth in the conference and put her at a dig per set of 3.56, which ranks 12^th. She played in every set and had five aces in the first game of the season.
• Starting setter Elena Atkinson was the team leader in assists this past weekend with 96 which ranked fifth in the conference and top 100 in the country. She averaged 6.86 assists per set, which is also fifth in the RMAC. She also had 21 digs and three blocks
• Head coach Grayson DuBose enters his first season with the Yellow Jackets but has 14 years of head coaching experience at the D1 level prior to joining BHSU. He was head coach at Utah State for all 14 years and has a 189-237 record with two WAC Coach of the Year awards and one NCAA Division 1 Tournament appearance. He currently has a record with BHSU of 0-4.

 
BRANDON (CAN) STORYLINES

• Brandon University had a 2-18 record last season in Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference last season and are entering this season trying to snap a six game losing to end last year. The Bobcats don't start their conference season this year until mid-October.
• Brandon finished last in the Canada West conference last season with six total points on the season and both of their wins were five-set matches.
• One of the big returners for the Bobcats is Narissa Dyer, a senior middle blocker, who finished second on the team with 89 kills last season and led the team with 40 blocks. She had a high of seven blocks versus University of Winnipeg Wesmen and had 10 kills versus Regina.
• Cassidy Hauta is the top returning kill leader for Brandon. She had 105 kills last season and had two games with over 10 kills including 14 in a game versus Fraser Valley. She also had 86 digs including two games with double-digits. She will be a senior this year.
• Head volleyball coach Kailan Robinson is entering her first year as Interim Head Coach for Brandon. This is her first head coaching job and she is a Brandon alum.

 
SERIES HISTORY

• The Yellow Jackets have never faced Brandon University so whoever wins this will go 1-0 in the series.

 
UMARY STORYLINES

• UMary (1-3) is coming off a year where they went 4-22 (2-16 NSIC) and finished 14^th in the NSIC conference. They were able to snap a nine-game losing streak when they beat BHSU in their second game of the Eagle Classic 3-1. The Yellow Jackets had opportunities to win but struggled to keep runs together.
• The Marauders were able to pound BHSU with their good hitting percentage. They had a .363 hitting percentage and, in the tournament, had a .223 hitting percentage which ranked them top 70 in the country.
• The Marauders were picked to finish 14^th this season in the NSIC Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll with 42 points just ahead of Minnesota Crookston and just behind Bemidji State. They now sit at 1-3.
• Judith Burke was the star for Mary in the Eagle Classic, she led the team with 46 kills including 16 in the BHSU match and 14 next games versus Saint Martin's. Burke is a sophomore who didn't play at all in her first season.
• Dani Highum was the other top player for the Marauders who had 40 kills last weekend. She finished with 12 kills in the game versus BHSU and had 17 versus Saint Martin's. She also put together 22 digs. She only played in 12 matches her freshman year and had 54 kills in that season.
• Head coach Rob Frost will begin his tenure at UMary this season with ten years of head coaching experience at three different schools. He spent most of his career at Mary Hardin-Baylor a DIII school in Texas where he went to NCAA DIII Tournament Sweet 16 in back-to-back years in 2017 and 2018. He made three national tournaments overall. He has never had a losing record in any season he's coached and has a 217-80 record.

 
SERIES HISTORY

• The Green and Gold had a chance to even the series last weekend but now sit 9-11 in the series for Mary.
• The Marauders broke the six-game win streak BHSU had going in 2023 when the pulled off a 3-2 win over the Jackets two matches ago and have now won two in a row after beating the Yellow Jackets last weekend in four sets.

 
MINOT STATE STORYLINES

• Minot State is 0-4 after falling in all of their matchups at the Seawolf Invitational in Anchorage, Alaska and not winning a set in the tournament. The Beavers lost the first set of the season 29-27 to Cal State San Marcos before falling to 0-12 in sets this season. They are coming off a 2-25 (0-18 NSIC) record last season with their two wins being Brandon University and Dickinson State.
• The Beavers were picked to finish 16^th in the NSIC Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll and had 16 points in that poll. They were ranked just below Minnesota Crookston.
• Jaina Macaulay is the starting setter for Minot. She had 43 assists over the four games in Anchorage. Three of those four games she made it over ten assists with 13 in their first game versus CSU San Marcos. She also had 31 digs with at least seven digs in each match and had nine in the game versus Biola.
• Caton Pearcy was the leading kill getter for Minot State at the Seawolf and had 21 kills. This included 11 kills in the match versus CSU SM. She also had 29 digs with 11 against Alaska Anchorage.
• Alex Courtney is entering her second season with the Beavers and has a 2-29 record as head coach.

 
SERIES HISTORY

• The Green and Gold currently hold the 19-15 series lead over Minot and have won four of the last five. BHSU faced MSU twice last year in Billings, Montana and won both matches 3-0.

 
MANITOBA STORYLINES

• Manitoba Bisons were the U Sports National Champions last year in Canada. They have won two national championships in the last ten years and finished third in the Canada West conference regular season with a record of 16-4. They would go on to beat the Montreal Carabins in the championship of the U Sports Women's Volleyball Championship.
• They lost a lot of key players from that team and only have one non-graduate returner who got meaningful minutes for the Bison. That is Raya Surinx, who finished last season with 444 kills and 193 digs. She had over 10 kills every match, had 20 kills nine times including reaching 20 kills in each of the final two games of the season in the semifinals and finals. She also reached ten digs nine times with ten digs in each of the last two games as well.
• Head Coach Ken Bentley is a Canadian legend. He is entering his 40^th season with the Manitoba Bison and has a record of 1,175-477 and was the first coach in Canadian history to reach 1,000 wins back in 2015. He has seven national titles in 11 attempts and has competed in 21 national tournaments and has finished inside the top three 16 times. He was an assistant coach for the Canadian Olympic team at the 1996 games in Atlanta.

 
SERIES HISTORY

• The Yellow Jackets have never played Manitoba and so the winner of this match will take a 1-0 lead in the series.