RAPID CITY - Black Hills State swept South Dakota School of Mines in a Dakota Athletic Conference college volleyball match Wednesday evening at Goodell Gymnasium.

The Yellow Jackets won by the scores of 30-20, 30-27 and 30-28.

"Well I thought we came out and played really well in Game 1," Black Hills State head coach Jhett Albers said. "I thought Tech was pumped up and really excited, and maybe over-enthusiastic because they made a lot of errors - hitting balls long and stuff like that. So, I thought it was good to get that first game."

BHSU used a 14-1 run to take a commanding 20-7 lead in winning the first game.

The visitors led for much of Game 2, before Mines' Katherine Hanson recorded a kill to tie it at 22-22. The game was tied two other times - 26-26 and 27-27 - but Black Hills' Kristin Engle was just too much to handle down the stretch.

After Mines' Paige Corcoran had a block to tie it at 27-all, Engle, a 6-foot-1 sophomore, had a kill that made it 28-27. A Mines hitting error presented BHSU with a 29-27 lead, and Engle finished it off with another solid kill.

In Game 3, the 'Rockers came out a bit sloppy, falling behind 8-3. However, they battled back to tie it at 10-10 and then took control of the game.

On four occasions the home team led by seven points, the latest coming at 22-15, but they weren't able to close it out.

"I think we've struggled with that all year," Mines head coach Beth Honaker said. "… They don't realize that any team in our conference is capable of coming back no matter how far they're down by."

Black Hills State was able to tie it up at 25-25. Rapid City native Jennie Malone tallied back-to-back kills to put Mines up 27-25, however, an Engle kill and consecutive ball-handling errors by the Hardrockers gave BHSU a 28-27 edge.

Malone came up with another kill to make it 28-all. The Jackets then capitalized on a hitting error by the Hardrockers, and Carly Benz and Mindi Mayer teamed up for a block to wrap up the victory.

"Games 2 and 3 were probably a more realistic match-up of South Dakota Mines and Black Hills - it's going to go back and forth, point for point," Albers noted. "They're scrappy defensively, they serve strong; we're a little bit stronger offensively and we block well. So, I mean, it's kind of an even trade."

Honaker did not seem too pleased about her team's performance.

"Games 1 and 2 we didn't play very well," she said. "We started blocking a little bit better in Games 2 and 3. But when you're ahead by six or seven points in Game 3, you can't lose."

Engle tallied a match-high 14 kills, and also had two block assists and three service aces. Mayer added 13 kills and two block assists, while Martin native Maggie O'Neill, a freshman, had 10 kills, 19 digs and two block assists.

Mandy Brumfield guided the BHSU offense with 40 set assists, and Jennifer Weitzel added 19 digs.

Malone led Mines with 12 kills, Hanson had 10 and Ashley Kauffman notched nine.

Tessa Howe dished out 33 assists and had two aces, and Jenny Hiykel led the defense with 27 digs. Corcoran was solid up front for the 'Rockers, recording two solo and three assisted blocks.

The Hardrockers are playing in the National American University Tournament this weekend. Mines (15-4, 4-4 DAC) then travels to Mayville State and Black Hills (17-2, 6-2) plays at Valley City State on Oct. 19. The teams swap opponents on Oct. 20.

Wednesday marked the Yellow Jackets' second consecutive win over the Hardrockers this season, and 11th straight overall dating back to 2002.