RAPID CITY, S.D. – South Dakota Mines Volleyball, fueled by a full King Center of 1,563 fans, defeated Black Hills State 3-1 on Friday night.
The Rockers won the first set 25-17 to start with a 1-0 match lead. After the Yellow Jackets went up 3-0, the Hardrockers went on a 6-0 run in front of a rowdy crowd. That lead held until Black Hills State tied the set at 14-14. However, a 6-1 Rockers run gave them a 20-15 advantage. Another 4-0 run at the end of the set finalized the score at 25-17.
Following a 25-22 second set win for the Yellow Jackets, the Hardrockers dominated the third set 25-13. They picked up a 5-0 run early in the set and ran with it. A long 9-3 run gave the Rockers a 20-10 lead. A block from
Joy Aburto and
Laney Caskey gave the Rockers a 25-13 victory.
South Dakota Mines closed out the match with a 25-21 fourth set win to beat the Yellow Jackets 3-1. The Rockers played from behind in the set as much as 9-4 at the beginning of the set. However, a 6-0 run put the Rockers on top 10-9. They would pull away at the end of the set, highlighted by a kill from
Cate Warren to win 25-21.
Warren hit for .357 with 15 kills.
Lexi Glendenning totaled 10 kills with five digs, two blocks and two aces.
Maria Bouman put up a .438 hitting percentage, eight kills, six aces and five digs against her hometown team.
Allison Nowak collected 20 digs, while
Ivy Vindivich had 11. At the net,
Laney Caskey recorded seven blocks, while Aburto put up four with six kills.
South Dakota Mines swept the RMAC Regional Pod to move to 11-3 overall. They also earned two points for South Dakota Mines in the Black Hills Brawl Rivalry Series.
What's Next
The Rockers stay at home next weekend to take on (RV) UCCS on Oct. 2, followed by #24 MSU Denver on Oct. 3.
