Mines set for BHSU rematch

By Brad Blume, South Dakota School of Mines | Wednesday, October 10, 2007

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RAPID CITY — The Dakota Athletic Conference volleyball season has reached the halfway point as league teams have all faced each other one time and will see each other one final time before the end of the regular season.

The second meeting for South Dakota School of Mines and Black Hills State is 7 p.m. tonight at the King Center in Rapid City.

The first time the rivals met was back in early September. Both teams had undefeated records at the time with Black Hills State squeaking out the ‘W’ after five games.

“It was a disappointing loss. And I don’t think it was the loss in general that was disappointing, but rather it was Game 5 and how we lost it that was disappointing,” Hardrocker coach Beth Honaker said about the first meeting. “We battled hard, but just kind of dropped the ball in Game 5.”

The Yellow Jackets jumped out to an 8-0 advantage in that final frame and the Lady ’Rockers couldn’t muster a comeback en route to their first loss of the year.

Since then, the Hardrockers have dropped only two more matches, while the Yellow Jackets too fell to a pair of  tough conference foes. BHSU is currently 16-2 on the season (5-2 in the DAC), while Mines has a 15-3 mark (4-3 in the DAC).

“We’ve grown as a team. The longer the girls play together, the better they get,” Honaker said. “I think

the one thing that (our girls) like to hold on to is the idea that they don’t give up.”

Both the Yellow Jackets and Hardrockers have lost conference matches to Jamestown College and Dickinson State this season. And granted those were tough defeats to swallow, but the Hardrockers keep dwelling on the loss to BHSU and how close they were to earning the victory.

“The good thing about our girls is that they have been reminding themselves about that loss (to BHSU) all season long. We will finally get a chance (tonight) to redeem ourselves,” Honaker added.

But it certainly won’t be a cake walk for the ’Rockers. Black Hills State most recently won a non-conference match over Columbia College (Mo.), a team that has been nationally ranked this year. The Yellow Jackets defeated them in five games this past Friday, and then the Missouri squad defeated Dickinson State, who is ranked seventh in the nation. The win gave the Yellow Jackets a NAIA Region III ranking this week at No. 9.

Still, Honaker and the Hardrockers feel confident that they have what it takes to defeat  BHSU, even though the Spearfish squad has improved in several areas.

 “BHSU has gotten a lot better at serve receive. They are passing the ball much better,” Honaker said. “The first time we served tough, and BH struggled with that a bit. Since then, they have gotten better. So we need to step up our serving and move them around a little more.”

One of the main strengths of the Yellow Jackets is their front row play of sophomore Kristin Engle and freshman Maggie O’Neill.

“They have two girls in the front row that are very very consistent,” Honaker said.

On the year, Engle (middle hitter) is 401 of 459 on the attack and has recorded 234 kills. She is third in the DAC for total kills and also leads the league in blocking with 104 (22 solo, 82 assisted).  She is 15th in the nation with a hitting percentage of .380 and is ranked sixth in the NAIA for blocks per game at 1.8.

“She earned the DAC Freshman of the Year award last year. She definitely deserved that. She’s even better now,” Honaker said. “I don’t believe there is a way to stop Engle, because she is going to get her kills and she is going to get her blocks, but we need to figure out a way to contain her.”

Another valuable weapon is that of O’Neill, who plays on the outside. For the season, she has 185 kills and is 437 of 530 in attacks.

“She sure doesn’t play like a freshman,” Honaker added.

Add in sophomore setter Mandy Brumfield, who is third in the DAC with 638 assists, and the Yellow Jackets have the potential to deliver quite a sting.

The Hardrockers have some solid players as well.

Rapid City native and Mines senior Jennie Malone has 25 service aces on the season to go along with her 199 kills and 446 of 490 in attacks.

“The one thing BH has always been frustrated with when it comes to our offense is blocking Jennie Malone,” Honaker said. “They are one of few teams that have pulled a triple block against her and she still seems to score big points off it.”

Then, of course, there is the Mines junior libero Jenny Hiykel.

She has been getting a lot of recognition lately at all levels. She has earned DAC Libero of the Week three straight times, has a NAIA Region III Libero honor and NAIA Libero of the Week award as well. She has 436 digs on the season and does a tremendous job on serve receive. With all the attention Hiykel has gotten lately, you can be sure that BHSU has taken notice as well. 

“I wouldn’t be surprised if BHSU went to our left and right backs and tried to keep the ball away from (Hiykel) on serve receive,” Honaker said. “The one thing about Hiykel is that it doesn’t really make a difference where the ball goes in the back row — she’s there.”

SDM’s setter, junior Tessa Howe, is also having a stellar season with a DAC Setter of the Week honor to go along with her 724 assists and 29 aces.

It is shaping up to be quite a match between the two rivals with conference position on the line as well. And if it is anything like the first bout it will definitely be worth the price of admission.