SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University volleyball team remains at home for the second consecutive weekend as they close out a 4-game homestand by welcoming Fort Lewis and Western Colorado to A2 Arena. The Yellow Jackets look to put an end to a 3-game Skyhawk winning streak as the teams are slated for a 6 p.m. first serve on Friday evening, while BHSU then looks to keep their edge in the all-time series against WCU as the teams are scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. first serve on Saturday.
 
GAME 1 DETAILS VS. FORT LEWIS
Date & Time: Friday, October 11 at 6 p.m.
Location: Spearfish, S.D. – A2 Arena
 
GAME 2 DETAILS VS. WESTERN COLORADO
Date & Time: Saturday, October 12 at 5:30 p.m.
Location: Spearfish, S.D. – A2 Arena
 
BLACK HILLS STATE STORYLINES

• Black Hills State enters this week's conference games with a 4-10 (0-4 RMAC) record after dropping a pair of RMAC Regional Pod contests to South Dakota Mines (3-0) and Chadron State (3-1) last weekend.
• In 2024 BHSU has hit .173 while averaging 12.2 kills, 11.2 assists, 1.6 aces, 17.5 digs, and 1.5 blocks per set. On the other hand, their opponents have hit .219 while averaging 13.1 kills, 11.5 assists, 1.5 aces, 18.4 digs, and 1.6 blocks per set.
• Black Hills State currently ranks top-30 nationally in two statistical categories, ranking 25^th in attacks per set (38.58) and 29^th in digs per set (17.47).
• Brooke Miller and Abigail Renner lead the Yellow Jacket attack, recording 162 and 146 kills respectively for averages of 3.38 and 2.75 kills per set. In the RMAC, Miller ranks ninth in kills per set and is 11^th in total kills, while Renner is 13^th in total kills and 18^th in kills per set.
• The pair of Miller and Renner have also been active on the BHSU defense, totaling 160 and 151 digs respectively for averages of 3.33 and 2.85 digs per set. With those numbers Miller has notched seven double-doubles while Renner has collected four this season.
• The duo of Sydnie Tuioti-Mariner and Elena Atkinson have paced the BHSU offense throughout the season, tallying 347 and 171 assists respectively with averages of 6.55 and 4.28 assists per set. Tuioti-Mariner has reached double digit assists in all 14 matches this year, including notching 30 or more on five occasions, while Atkinson has reached double digits in 11 consecutive matches and reached the mark of 20 or more once when she tallied a career-high with 26 against Adams State. Additionally, Tuioti-Mariner ranks seventh in the RMAC in both total assists and assists per set, while Atkinson is 17^th in the league in assists per set.
• Ellie Thomas leads the team with 247 digs (4.66 digs per set) and service aces with 20 (0.38 aces per set) through 14 matches this year. She set a new season-high mark of 30 digs against Adams State and has also reached 20 or more digs in six of the last nine matches. Among the league leaders, she ranks second in total digs, third in digs per set, fourth in total service aces, and tenth in aces per set.
• A trio of BHSU athletes have made their presence known at the net with Randi Wellhoefer recording 38.0 blocks (0.75 blocks per set), while Jaeda Davis-Golliher and Emily Freeland have each collected 26.0 blocks (0.49 blocks per set). Wellhoefer has recorded a block in four consecutive matches and has recorded four or more on five occasions this year. Wellhoefer currently ranks 16^th in the conference in total blocks.
• Bree Davis is in her third season as the head coach of the Yellow Jackets.

FORT LEWIS STORYLINES

• Fort Lewis enters this weekend's RMAC contest with a 5-9 (1-3 RMAC) record after earning road wins at Adams State (3-2) and New Mexico Highlands (3-1) in the RMAC Regional Pod matches, bringing their winning streak to three.
• In 2024 FLC has hit .146 while averaging 12.4 kills, 11.3 assists, 1.3 aces, 14.9 digs, and 1.5 blocks per set. On the other hand, their opponents have hit .212 while averaging 12.8 kills, 11.8 assists, 1.5 aces, 15.7 digs, and 2.7 blocks per set.
• The Skyhawks currently rank top-25 nationally in one statistical category, ranking 23^rd in attacks per set (38.73).
• A trio of players lead the Fort Lewis attack as Alexis Hobie, Lauren Shea, and Alina Nunez have tallied 116, 110, and 107 kills respectively with averages of 2.97, 2.68, and 2.38 kills per set. Hobie has recorded double digit kills in three consecutive matches and ranks 16^th in the league in kills per set.
• Natalia Lambos has paced the Skyhawk offense with 434 assists during the 2024 season, averaging 8.86 assists per set. She has notched 30 or more assists in six matches this season, including hitting the 50 mark on two occasions as she posted 52 against UT-Permian Basin and 57 against Adams State. She currently ranks sixth in the RMAC in both total assists and assists per set.
• Ella Butler is the player to watch at the service line for FLC as she has collected 13 service aces this year, averaging 0.39 aces per set. She currently ranks ninth in the conference in aces per set.
• Freshman defensive specialist, Emery Pomroy leads the team with 144 digs and an average of 3.43 digs per set through 14 matches this year. She has recorded double digit digs in eight matches in 2024, including a season-high of 20 against UTPB. Pomroy ranks 11^th in the RMAC in digs per set.
• The player to watch at the net for the Skyhawks is Ivy Schoditsch, who has recorded 23.0 blocks with an average of 0.68 blocks per set. She has collected three or more blocks on six occasions.
• Giedre Tarnauskaite is in her fifth season as the head coach of the Skyhawks.

SERIES HISTORY

• Friday will be the 13^th meeting as RMAC opponents between Black Hills State and Fort Lewis, with the Skyhawks holding an 8-4 advantage in the series.
• FLC won the most recent meeting on October 6, 2023, in Durango, Colorado, as they earned their third consecutive victory over BHSU with a 3-0 sweep.

WESTERN COLORADO STORYLINES

• Western Colorado enters Saturday's RMAC match-up with a 4-11 (1-3 RMAC) record following a win at Westminster (3-2) and a loss at Colorado Mesa as part of the RMAC Regional Pod games.
• In 2024 WCU has hit .175 while averaging 11.9 kills, 10.8 assists, 1.2 aces, 15.9 digs, and 1.3 blocks per set. On the other hand, their opponents have hit .223 while averaging 13.0 kills, 11.9 assists, 1.7 aces, 16.3 digs, and 2.5 blocks per set.
• Seyun Park leads the Mountaineer attack as she has totaled 141 kills with an average of 2.61 kills per set this year. She has recorded double digit kills in six games, including a season-high of 21 against Western New Mexico. She currently ranks 17^th in the RMAC in total kills.
• Pacing the Western Colorado offense has been Nur Turkmenoglu, who has collected 541 assists with an average of 9.17 assists per set. In ten matches this year she has recorded 30 or more assists, including a pair of matches where she reached the 50 mark with 53 assists against WNMU and 54 against Southwest Baptist. Additionally, she leads WCU with 19 services aces and an average of 0.32 aces per set. Turkmenoglu currently ranks fourth in the league in total assists, fifth in assists per set, and seventh in total service aces.
• At the libero position, Chinaru Inoue leads the Mountaineers with 264 digs and an average of 4.47 digs per set. She has notched 20 or more digs in five matches this year, including a season-high of 36 against SBU. She leads the league in total digs and is sixth in digs per set.
• Kyra Kidd and Kennedy Kelly are the players to watch at the net for Western, tallying 39.0 and 31.0 blocks respectively with 0.66 and 0.55 blocks per set. The pair has both recorded a block in 14 of the 15 matches this year. Kidd currently ranks 14^th in the conference in total blocks.
• Jordan Bruere is in her second season as the head coach of the Mountaineers.

SERIES HISTORY

• Saturday will mark the 14^th all-time meeting between Black Hills State and Western Colorado as RMAC opponents, with the Yellow Jackets holding a 7-6 advantage in the series.
• With a 3-1 win in Spearfish on October 26, 2023, the Mountaineers won their second consecutive game in the series over BHSU and has now won four of the last five meetings since 2020.