Mandy Brumfield is having fun again, and that is not good news for opponents of the Black Hills State volleyball team.

The senior setter draws a lot of her enjoyment from one thing - winning - and when the Yellow Jackets began this season coming off the school's first Dakota Athletic Conference title and a trip to the national tournament, she admitted not having too much fun. BHSU got off to a 10-8 start in nonconference action, but has rebounded with a 6-1 mark in conference play.

"We were putting too much pressure on ourselves, and we didn't feel like we were playing the way we're capable of and having fun," Brumfield said. "I don't like losing, and I was not happy. But a few weeks ago, we got together and talked. I want to win and have fun. That is when we are successful, and I am having a lot more fun."

The 2008 first-team all-conference selection is off to another solid start this season earning DAC setter of the week honors twice, but for Brumfield, the wins mean more than accolades.

"She is such a consistent player and a great leader," BHSU coach Jhett Albers said. "She has always been a good setter, but her defense has gotten a lot better and she is able to read the floor very well."

Brumfield's talent has been on display from almost Day 1 of setting foot on the Spearfish campus.

"She didn't play the first match of her freshman year, but we put her in there in the second match, and everything clicked and she made good decisions."

Brumfield said she was not overwhelmed by the experience rather just excited and nervous. It was just the experience the Dickinson, N.D., native was hoping for when she came to Black Hills State.

"I fell in love with the Black Hills and I have known coach Albers since I was in seventh grade because he came and put on some camps at my school," Brumfield said. "He is a lot like my high school coach, and he is a great person."

Brumfield credits her success to the talent that surrounds her, including senior hitters Kristin Engle and Kayla Haines.

"My hitters are incredible, and they adjust to my sets when they are a little off to make me look good," she said.

All five of the Yellow Jacket seniors were the driving force behind last season's 26-8, but Brumfield admits they may have been expecting to pick up this season where they left off last year from the opening whistle of this season.

"I think the thing that you sometimes don't realize is that every season is a new season and it is always a journey," Albers said. "This group knows what it wants to accomplish and didn't get down on itself early after some setbacks."

Brumfield said the next goal is to win the conference regular season title, which the Yellow Jackets shared last season. To do that, BHSU will have to defeat last year's regular-season co-champion Jamestown College, which handed the Yellow Jackets its lone DAC setback so far this season.

"We need to keep up our intensity because Jamestown is a great team. But we match up well with them," Brumfield said. "It is coming up in a few weeks and it will be the final home game for the seniors. After that we have to be ready for whatever, hopefully nationals."

Time will tell and Brumfield's face likely will too.