Black Hills State University Athletics

SPEARFISH, S.D.- The Yellow Jackets are 1-0 at home, they are 1-0 in the RMAC, and Grayson DuBose has joined the 200-win club all in a night's work as BHSU took down Fort Lewis in a five-set thriller for the ages. Two crucial comebacks in a night full of history helped BHSU win the RMAC opener for the first time since 2021. Grayson DuBose notched his 200^th career win while Zoie Husman had a career-high in kills and became the second Yellow Jacket this season with a 20-kill double-double.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 3, Fort Lewis 2
Team Records: Black Hills State (5-4), Fort Lewis (5-4)
Attendance: 222
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Black Hills State did not start this game how they wanted to. Despite three kills from Husman early, FLC took a 9-4 lead. After some back-and-forth, a 4-1 run by the Yellow Jackets closed the gap to 15-13. However, Fort Lewis started running away with it again. They went on an 8-3 run to make it 23-16 and was looking to make this a route. However, BHSU found a groove. The Yellow Jackets went from looking out of it to running off nine straight points with five attack errors from the Skyhawks and two kills from Carsyn Mettler which allowed BHSU to come all the way back and take the first set 25-23.
• The second set started very similar to the first with FLC holding a 10-3 lead to being the set. A 5-2 run by the Yellow Jackets made it 12-8 with a kill and a block from Peyton McLeod. After some point matching, BHSU was down 15-10. However, Fort Lewis was not going to let a comeback happen again as they won 10 of the next 15 points to win the set 25-15 and even the match at 1-1.
• After Fort Lewis took the opening two points of the third set, BHSU won six out of eight to take a 6-4 lead with two kills from Izzy Saiki. The Skyhawks would go on a run to tie it at eight before Husman would get three kills and an ace to help get BHSU up 13-10. Three straight points by the Skyhawks tied it at 13. Some really close points and rallies would allow this game to remain tied at 17. BHSU went on a little run to take a 22-20 that included two more kills and an ace from Husman. Alina Nunez of Fort Lewis got two kills in a row and paired with another FLC kill gave them the lead at 23-22. Right when it looked like FLC had gotten on the right track, Saiki got a kill and a block as part of a 3-0 run to give the Green and Gold the 25-23 set win.
• The fourth set sat tied at three before the Skyhawks went on a 11-5 run to make it 14-8. However, they were unable to string multiple points together and the Yellow Jackets kept crawling back thanks to the offense of Mettler, she was able to keep it within three for most of the fourth set all the way up to 22-19. Izzy Abril would then get three kills in a 4-1 run to get BHSU within one at 24-23 before a kill by FLC sent this to a fifth set with another 25-23 set.
• The Skyhawks did exactly what you need to in a fifth set, they took a 7-1 lead to begin it. After two kills in a row from BHSU, they would answer with back-to-back points of their own, which made it 9-3. It looked like the Jackets magical run was coming to a close, but the Green and Gold kept fighting. They scored three in a row with a kill and a block from Husman. After a service error, they would score three more in a row with a kill by Husman and a block from McLeod and Mianna Cardenas, which would make it 10-9. The two teams would split the next six points before Husman got a kill to tie it up at 13-13. A FLC attack error gave BHSU the lead and match point. However, it would not be that easy. The Skyhawks would win back-to-back points with kills by the reigning RMAC Offensive Player of the Week Nunez, before Husman would match with two kills of her own to give the Jackets a 17-16 lead. After a Yellow Jacket service error to tie the game at 17, Husman would get another kill to put her at 21 and give BHSU an 18-17 lead. Finally, it was Saiki who got the ball into the box and found the ground for the match winning kill for BHSU as they celebrated to thunderous crowd at A2 Arena and took the match 19-17 and 3-2.

 
BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Zoie Husman: 21 kills, 2 aces, 13 digs
Emma Kruger: 31 assists
Elena Atkinson: 30 assists, 14 digs
Keira Thompson: 29 digs

GAME HIGHLIGHTS


UP NEXT
BHSU will continue their homestand tomorrow at 5:30 PM, where they will play Western Colorado, who just lost 1-3 to South Dakota Mines tonight, in A2 Arena.
 
 
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