By: Paxton Ritchie
CSC Sports Information
RAPID CITY, S.D. – CSU Pueblo defeated Chadron State for the second time this season in a neutral site "competition pod" nonconference volleyball match held in Rapid City. The ThunderWolves prevailed over the Eagles 25-18, 25-23, 25-16.
Despite the loss, sophomore Kally Kirkwood had a terrific match for the Eagles, smashing home 10 kills on 23 attempts with just one attack error to hit .391 for the match, her third-highest hitting percentage of the season. She also added a solo block.
Also for CSC, Mataya Ward had eight kills while leading the Eagles with 26 attempts and hitting .115 while Aiyana Fujiyama had six kills and a block while hitting .214. Alondra Hernandez continued to pile up the digs, tallying 19 to average 6.33 per set, a pace above her league-leading average of 4.92 per set.
The loss, which does not count in the RMAC standings, drops CSC to 4-18 overall this season. The win improves CSU Pueblo to 13-8.
The Eagles are currently 0-10 in RMAC play but face the two teams directly above them in the standings – Black Hills State (5-16, 1-9) and New Mexico Highlands (5-17, 2-8) – in two of their final four conference matches of the year.
In Friday's match, the ThunderWolves had 48 kills and 10 attack errors, hitting .342 for the match. The Pack also added seven service aces. Chadron State had 29 kills with 15 errors, hitting .144 on the evening. Chadron State did edge out the ThunderWolves at the net, tallying four blocks to CSU Pueblo's three.
CSU Pueblo got off to a fast start immediately, leading 8-1 in the first set after a service ace and 11-2 after back-to-back kills. Chadron State made things competitive, taking advantage of a service error, Mataya Ward kill and attack error to pull within 13-9, but the ThunderWolves regained momentum and won the first set 25-18 despite Chadron winning four of the set's final six points.
The second set started with a similar script. The ThunderWolves led 10-5 early, but Chadron State used a 4-0 scoring run with a service error, Bella Adams kill and two attack errors to climb within a point at 10-9. The Eagles used another 5-0 run, featuring kills from Kally Kirkwood and Aiyana Fujiyama and capped by a Rylee Ward ace, to take a 15-12 lead.
CSU Pueblo was able to close, however, coming up with some big kills to turn the tide of the set. Although Chadron State led 20-18, the ThunderWolves earned their final seven points of the set via the kill, outscoring CSC 7-3 down the stretch to win the second set, 25-23.
In set three, the Pack once again jumped out to a lead, and though the Eagles stayed within striking distance, they never led in the set. The teams were tied 2-2 early, but CSU Pueblo scored the next four points to lead 6-2 and later built a 9-4 cushion. The Eagles pulled within three on a Rylee Ward kill to make it 11-8, but the ThunderWolves were able to accumulate points and build their lead to the final margin of 25-16.