Black Hills State University Athletics had a very busy Halloween weekend at home, with the Yellow Jacket athletes hosting five competitions throughout the spooky weekend.

The weekend in Spearfish kicked off on Friday, October 29, as the Yellow Jacket’s Women’s Soccer team (3-10) took on the Fort Lewis College Skyhawks (4-9-2) at Ronnie Theiz Field at 3:30 p.m. The game started slow, despite each team having shot opportunities on goal through the first 30 minutes of action. According to the game report on the athletics site, the Skyhawks jumped ahead 1-0 at the 31:19 mark of the first half, which they would hold going into the second half of play. The Yellow Jackets came back and played faster in the second half, but could not notch a goal against Fort Lewis; they would eventually fall to the Skyhawks with a final score of 2-0. 

Friday evening saw an exciting five-set Volleyball matchup as the BHSU Yellow Jackets (7-15) hosted the Adams State University Grizzlies (9-14) at 7:00 p.m. at the Donald E. Young Center. The first two sets did not look good for the Yellow Jackets. Despite a tight contest between the two teams, the Yellow Jackets were outscored 50-38 through the first two sets. The Yellow Jackets bounced back in sets three and four, beating the Grizzlies 25-19 and 26-24 respectively. In the fifth and final set, the Yellow Jackets would record nine kills and two blocks to complete their comeback win over the Adams State Grizzlies, with a final score in set five totaling 15-12, giving BH the 3-2 victory. The team tallied a total of 65 kills, of which four Yellow Jackets carried double-digit kills. 

Saturday afternoon, October 30, saw the Yellow Jacket football team (4-5) host the 136th annual Black Hills Brawl against the South Dakota School of Mines Hardrockers (5-4) at Lyle Hare Stadium. The game was a slow, gritty defensive showdown as the two teams would combine for seven turnovers forced (BH forced two interceptions and two fumbles while SD Mines secured three interceptions). In the first two quarters of the game, each team only scored one touchdown before the halftime break, going in at seven points-a-piece. The second half saw the Hardrockers take an edge on the Yellow Jackets, and the final score on the cold Saturday matchup tallied at 13-10. The Hardrockers offense finished the game with 379 yards of total offense, while the Yellow Jackets were held to just 121 yards on offense. They finish their season on the road against Colorado Mesa University on November 6, and a final home game in Spearfish against Chadron State University on November 13. 

Black Hills State Volleyball saw more action Saturday evening as they hosted the New Mexico Highlands University Cowgirls (8-16) at 5:30 p.m. at the Donald E. Young Center. This time the Yellow Jackets would receive the upper-hand as they outscored the Cowgirls 52-43 through the first two sets. The Cowgirls struck back, winning the third set 25-18. Moving into set four, the Yellow Jackets jumped ahead with a score of 7-2, and although New Mexico brought it back to be within one against BHSU, the Yellow Jackets would run away with the final score of set four tallying at 25-20, giving BH the 3-1 win over New Mexico Highlands. The Yellow Jacket Volleyball squad still have four games remaining in their season, with a weekend trip to Colorado coming up for the ladies. They will be playing the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Cougars (7-14) on November 5, and the Colorado State University Pueblo Thunderwolves (16-6) on Nov. 6.

The final match-up of the weekend came on the morning of Halloween, as the final home game for the BHSU Women’s soccer team saw them square up on the pitch against the Western Colorado University Mountaineers (5-10-1) at Ronnie Theiz Field at 11:30 a.m. Both teams took swings at each other’s goals during the first 45-minutes of play, but both would not find any points as the score remained locked at 0-0 at halftime. After two opportunities for the Yellow Jackets to score, the Mountaineers would score the first, and only, goal of the game with ten minutes left to play. The final score of the game read 1-0, closing out a hectic weekend of sports in Spearfish. The Yellow Jacket Women’s soccer team have one more game over the road on November 3 in Denver, CO to take on the Metropolitan State University of Denver Roadrunners (9-5-2).