By: Paxton Ritchie
CSC Sports Information Director
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Chadron State volleyball lost in their opening game of the season, falling to three sets to Point Loma, the defending PacWest conference champions. The Sea Lions won by set scores of 25-14, 25-19 and 25-13.
Kally Kirkwood led the way for the Eagles with five kills while her sister, Kendyl, had 15 assists. Bella Adams finished with four kills while libero Alondra Hernandez finished with a team-high 10 digs.
The Eagles and Sea Lions were evenly matched in the first set, with the teams alternating points until 6-6. Point Loma opened things up with a 5-0 scoring run to turn a 12-10 advantage into a 17-10 first-set lead, then won six of the set's final seven points to clinch. The Sea Lions hit .400 in the first set.
The second set was filled with scoring runs. Chadron State won the first two points, but Point Loma took advantage of attack errors to take a 9-4 lead, then strung kills together to win nine of 10 points and lead 18-8. Chadron put together two separate 4-0 scoring runs to trim the deficit, but eventually lost the second set on a Nua kill.
Point Loma continued to be clinical offensively, hitting .333 in the third set to close out the sweep. Chadron kept it close early in the set, but Point Loma pulled away at the finish, winning nine of the match's final 10 points.
Chadron utilized the majority of its roster, with 14 players seeing the floor and 10 appearing in all three sets, including a pair of freshmen in Bayard, Nebraska's Danika Hassel and Belle Fourche, South Dakota's Mataya Ward. Hassel and Ward finished with three kills apiece.
The Eagles will take the court twice Friday as the San Diego Invite continues. Chadron State is scheduled to play Vanguard at 12 p.m. (MT) and Simon Fraser at 7:30 p.m. (MT). Both matches will be played at Cal State San Marcos in San Marcos, California. They will be available to stream on pay-per-view or followed via live stats.