Courtesy: CSC Sports Information
CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State volleyball won the first set for the second time in as many nights but had no answer for their opponent after that, as Regis University defeated the Eagles in four sets Saturday night at the Chicoine Center – 21-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-16.
Chadron State (4-12, 0-6 RMAC) has now lost two in a row after a two-game win streak last week. Regis improved to 9-7 overall and 5-1 in the RMAC.
Bella Adams had a team-high seven kills and hit .250 for the match. Aiyana Fujiyama had five kills, no errors, a .500 hitting percentage and seven blocks, including a solo block.
Regis, who won the RMAC Tournament last season, got better as the match went along. The Rangers hit .000 in the first set with 10 kills and 10 errors, but hit .143, .222 and .243 over the next three sets to hit .159 for the match. Chadron State hit .077.
Service errors plagued the Eagles, as Chadron State had 13 on the match compared to five aces. Regis also committed 10 service errors but made up for it with 11 aces.
In the first set, Regis jumped out to a 5-1 lead, but Chadron State took control with a 7-0 scoring run. A service error allowed the Eagles to side out before an Alondra Hernandez ace made it 5-3. Back-to-back blocks by the tandem of Fujiyama and Natali Keni tied the score at 5-5, an attack error gave CSC the lead, and another Hernandez ace followed by a Fujiyama kill opened up an 8-5 Eagles advantage and led to a Regis timeout.
Regis rallied to tie the score at 14-14, but the Eagles took the lead back by scoring the next four points. Bella Adams was the star of that run, collecting 1.5 blocks and a kill in that four-point span. A third Hernandez service ace gave CSC a 22-18 lead before a Mataya Ward kill ended the set, 25-21.
Regis answered immediately in the second set, scoring the first six points to take a 6-0 lead. Chadron rallied some, with a Kirkwood kill and an attack error trimming the deficit to 12-8, but Regis answered again with three points in a row and didn't lead by less than five for the rest of the set.
The Rangers had an even better start to the third set, getting back-to-back aces early to lead 3-0 and eventually leading by margins of 10-2 and 18-7. Chadron State's best run in the set came while the Eagles were facing set point. Down 24-13, the Eagles saved five set points in a row, including two kills from Bo French, before Regis stopped the run with a block to win 25-18.
In the fourth, Chadron State took an early 4-2 lead before another 6-0 Regis run, as the visitors took advantage of two attack errors and a ball handling error with another ace mixed in. A kill from Mataya Ward made it 20-13 Rangers, but Regis crushed the rest of the way, getting four kills and an ace for their final five points while Chadron only mustered three points on Regis service errors, as the set ended 25-16.
Chadron State will be on the road for more RMAC matches next weekend, as the Eagles will face CSU Pueblo (10-6, 4-2 RMAC) on Friday and Adams State (4-13, 1-5 RMAC) on Saturday. The Eagles' next home match is the following Tuesday, October 22, against nationally-ranked Colorado Mesa (13-3, 5-1 RMAC).
UCCS Pulls Reverse-Sweep on CSC Friday
CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State volleyball jumped out to a two-sets-to-none lead, but couldn't hold it, losing to a comeback effort from the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs in a five-set match at the Chicoine Center, as the Mountain Lions prevailed over the Eagles 20-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-22, 15-9.
The loss drops the Eagles to 4-11 overall and 0-5 in RMAC play. It also snaps a two-game win streak for Chadron State after two nonconference wins last week over South Dakota Mines and Black Hills State.
Freshman Mataya Ward of Belle Fourche, South Dakota, finished with a career-high and team-high 12 kills in the losing effort. Aiyana Fujiyama also had double-digit kills, with 10, and hit .400 for the match. Alondra Hernandez tied a season-high with 32 digs.
The Eagles hit .161 as a team, with 55 kills and 25 attack errors. UCCS hit .207, with 62 kills and 22 attack errors. Both teams had nine service aces apiece while the Mountain Lions finished with nine total blocks compared to Chadron State's six.
Chadron State started strong, with four of the six blocks for the match coming in the first set. CSC got out to leads of 3-0, 7-2 and 11-4, with a Kendyl Kirkwood kill opening up the seven-point advantage. Two kills from Bella Adams and a kill from Ward in a four-point span made it 22-16 Eagles, before a UCCS service error closed out the set, 25-21.
UCCS opened the second set with an ace, but Chadron State used a 4-0 scoring run to take a 5-2 lead, punctuated by a combo block from Adams and Natali Keni. Trailing 19-16, the Eagles roared back with a kill from Alejandra Briseno followed by a Briseno ace.
After a UCCS point, the Eagles got a Kendyl Kirkwood set to Kally Kirkwood kill followed by a Mountain Lions ball handling error to tie the score 20-20. At 21-21, Chadron State took the set by winning each of the final four points courtesy of UCCS attack errors, including a block by Ward and Fujiyama.
In set three, UCCS jumped out to an early lead, and while Chadron State battled back to tie the score on four occasions, the Eagles never led in the set. Chadron State saved three set points to turn a 24-18 deficit into a 24-21 deficit, including a crazy rally where Hernandez made a dig with the top of her head on the way to CSC winning the point, but the Mountain Lions responded with a kill out of a timeout to take the third.
Offenses ruled the fourth set, as UCCS hit .366 while the Eagles hit .275. Chadron State had a 22-20 lead and were three points away from a match win, but UCCS went on a 5-0 run to steal the set, notching back-to-back aces to seal it.
In the decisive fifth set, the Eagles unfortunately could not get out of their own way, recording five kills compared to six attack errors for a -.038 hitting percentage in the set. Chadron State briefly led 2-0, but UCCS had two separate 4-0 runs to take a 9-5 lead and earned their final six points of the match on two CSC service errors and four attack errors.
Chadron State will hit the court again Saturday night at the Chicoine Center against Regis University, the defending RMAC Tournament champions. The Rangers (8-7, 4-1 RMAC) defeated Colorado Christian in four sets Friday night. First serve is set for 6 p.m.