BY: BROCK VOTH
CSC Sports Information
Cougars outlast Eagles in four sets Saturday
The Chadron State College volleyball team dropped its fourth straight Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference match on Saturday night against Colorado Christian in four sets (16-25, 25-23, 28-30, 18-25). The Eagles are now 7-12 overall, and 5-5 in the RMAC.
"We battled the last couple matches, said CSC Head Volleyball Coach Jennifer Stadler, "and we're working hard throughout our sets. We have to work to finish those tight sets, when the score is close, or when it goes to extra points."
CSC started off slow in the first set, finding itself down 3-7 early, and it never got close to Colorado Christian. The closest the Eagles got was four at 7-11. CCU was able to go on a 6-2 run to separate themselves from the Eagles. The Cougars were able to score the final three points to take the set off a kill from sophomore setter Izzy Jones.
The second set started off better for the Eagles as they traded blows with the Cougars, tying seven times before either team was able to get to double digits. The Eagles were able to separate themselves at 19-14 with the help of kills from sophomore middle Aiyana Fujiyama, freshman setter Kiley West, and junior outside hitter Lexi Hurtado. CCU tied the set again at 23, however the Eagles were able to scrape two points and took the set off a kill by sophomore outside Amber Harvey.
CCU captured the momentum to start off the third set, but CSC was able to fight back, led by Hurtado, to tie the game at 11. CSC led eight times, including five set points. The set went past the normal 25 points, decided by a kill from CCU's sophomore middle Lilly Woods, as CCU took the third set.
The Cougars carried that momentum into the fourth set, going up 4-0. CSC was able to fight back and tie the game four different times, but was never able to take the lead from CCU. A late Cougar run of 9-2 put the set, and the match, away.
Mayson Fago led the Eagles in hitting percentage of .421, but Lexi Hurtado led the Eagles with a total of 15 kills. Fago had 10 kills to add to the total of 50. As a team the Eagles hit .183, recording its best set in the third with a .280 clip.
The Eagles totaled 19 blocks with Amber Harvey, and Bella Adams leading the way with five each. Aiyana Fujiyama had four.
Kiera Alfred had 15 digs with Fago adding 13. Rylee Greiman had 11 to help out the defensive effort.
The Eagles will travel to Colorado School of Mines on Tuesday October 11.
#2 MSU-Denver battles through tough CSC challenge in second set to sweep Eagles
The Chadron State College volleyball team lost on Friday night to No. 2 MSU Denver in three sets (16-25, 25-27, 17-25) at the Chicoine Center. The Eagles fell to 7-11, and 5-4 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
The Eagles were able to hang around with the high-powered Roadrunners early, at 5-5 in the first set. MSUD was able to pull away from CSC with a 11-2 run, and the two points for the Eagles were service errors by the Roadrunners. The Eagles bounced back and closed it to 17-13, off a service ace from Fago, but MSUD was able to recapture the momentum and finish the set on a kill from Kaylee Corsentino.
The second set opened up much like the first one, and the Eagles hung on and kept it close throughout. MSUD largest lead was seven. With their backs against the wall, the Eagles were able to crawl back from a 13-20 deficit and tie the game at 24. The Eagles took the lead and set point on a Fujiyama kill, but MSUD scored the next three points to go up 27-25 in the match.
The Eagles opened the third set competitively as well, trailing by only one point at 6-5. CSC was able to stay with MSU Denver up until 19-17, following an ace from West, but the Roadrunners explosive offense took advantage and scored the final six points to win the match.
The Eagles offensive attack was led by junior Lexi Hurtado with nine kills, with sophomore Amber Harvey recording eight. The Eagles totaled 24 kills on the night with a .124 hitting percentage. Out of the three sets played, the Eagles best hitting percentage was .179 in the third set.
Defensively, sophomore Aiyana Fujiyama and freshman Bella Adams totaled three total blocks each, with CSC totaling six team blocks.
The Eagles had a total of 40 digs, with sophomore Mayson Fago getting 13, and junior Rylee Greiman pitching in for nine. Freshman libero Kiera Alfred had seven to add to the total.
Chadron will host Colorado Christian on Saturday, October 8 at the Chicoine Center at 6 p.m. for Pink Out night to bring awareness to breast cancer patients and survivors.