BY: BROCK VOTH
CSC Sports Information Office
The Chadron State College volleyball team got their first conference win on Saturday evening, beating New Mexico Highlands in four sets (18-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-16) at the Chicoine Center.
The Eagles improved to 3-7 and 1-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, while the Cowgirls fell to 3-7 with losses in their only two league matches.
After dropping the first set, the Eagles won the next three to secure their third win on the season.
The Eagles relied on their defense, registering 10 total blocks as team. They were led by sophomore Amber Harvey with 3 on the night.
Senior Abby Schaefer had 21 digs to continue her solid year defensively.
The offense was also on the attack when needed with a hitting percentage of .218, and a total of 52 kills led by sophomore Aiyana Fujiyama, and freshman Bella Adamas with 12.
Anissa Hernandez carried the Cowgirls with 13 total kills.
After the first set, the Eagles opened up the second set trading blows with the Cowgirls, but closed the set on a 5-1 run. The momentum never stopped for the Eagles. They only allowed the Cowgirls to take the lead one other time through the entire match, and that was to open the fourth set.
During the third set, the Eagles opened up on a 7-3 run, but allowed the Cowgirls to get close by tying it at 13-13. However, the Eagles pulled out another 7-3 run to propel them towards a win to go up 2-1 on the night.
The momentum the Eagles created at the end of third set carried into the fourth where they opened up with 10-3 lead. The Eagles never let the Cowgirls have a chance to get back in the match as they ended up winning the set, and their first conference match. The Cowgirls had a .000 hitting percentage while the Eagles had a .158
The Eagles will be on the road next week as they visit Black Hills State on September 16, and South Dakota Mines on September 17.
Adams State tops Eagles to open RMAC play
The Chadron State College volleyball team fell in four sets to open Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play on Friday against Adams State University. The Eagles lost 19-25, 21-25, 25-19, 19-25 at the Chicoine Center. CSC's record went to 2-7 (0-1 RMAC) to open up the young season, while Adams State fell to 4-6 overall, and 1-1 in the RMAC.
The Grizzlies had 20 more kills than the Eagles, led by sophomore outside hitter Cindy Garcia with 16.
Mayson Fago led the Eagles with 10 total kills.
The Eagles struggled to get going in the first set with a .194 hitting percentage. Meanwhile ASU hit .306 to hold the edge.
CSC was able to progress a little in the second set led by Bella Adams who had a hitting percentage of .438. The Grizzlies also struggled with three service errors, while the Eagles only tallied one.
The momentum the Eagles got in the second set propelled them to third set victory. The Eagles tallied 13 total kills and were able to push the Grizzlies to nine attacking errors.
The Eagles' momentum was depleted when the Grizzlies went on an 8-3 run halfway through the fourth set. ASU tallied a total of 18 kills as a team in that segment of play, which was its best in a single frame, on the night.
ASU's Garcia was instrumental for her team on both sides of the net.. Not only did she lead all players with 16 kills, but she hit a team-high .355, and was second on her team with 10 digs on defense.
CSC had a solid defense with 10 total blocks in four sets, compared to the opponents' three. Bella Adams was the biggest factor with eight block assists.
"We got better today," said CSC Head Volleyball Coach Jennifer Stadler. "We played more aggressively, and we did some nice things on offense. We need to clean up our serve receive a little bit and finish those long rallies."
The Eagles will host New Mexico Highlands on Saturday, September 10, at 6 p.m. at the Chicoine Center. The Cowgirls lost 3-1 at home to Fort Lewis on Friday, and they come to Chadron at 3-6 overall (0-1 RMAC).