CHADRON, Neb. -- October 20, 2017 -- Chadron State College volleyball took a 2-1 lead into set four, but fell flat in the fourth and could not recover in time to preserve a win. The visiting New Mexico Highlands Cowgirls prevailed 3-2 (25-22, 23-25, 15-25, 25-17, 15-12) in an erratic match Friday night at the Chicoine Center.
Taking the lead after the first set, Highlands gave way in the two to follow. The Eagles looked dominant over sets two and three, outhitting the Cowgirls .389 to .101. CSC appeared to have all the momentum in the match, up 2-1, until the teams came back out for set four. At that point, the Eagles could not find their targets, pushing attacks far and wide, and swinging into blocks. Chadron State committed 14 errors in the fourth set, versus 18 in the other four combined.
"Once again, we weren't consistent, and we weren't disciplined," said CSC Head Coach
Riann Mullis. "The inconsistency wasn't just at one position, or a group of players. We all had responsibility for the loss tonight."
Up 4-3 in set five, CSC gave up a 9-3 run to the visiting team, which was fueled by six attack errors from four different Eagles.
Despite the loss, Chadron State led NMHU statistically in several major categories, including kills, 60 to 52; hitting percentage, .193 to .187; team blocks, 10 to 6; and digs, 58 to 50. The two areas where the Eagles trailed the Cowgirls were in attack errors, which they lost 27 to 32, and in service aces, which went seven to two for NMHU.
Senior
Gaby Varela had a double-double with 22 kills and 11 digs, and led the Eagles in both categories in addition to hitting percentage, in which she recorded a .347.
A trio of Cowgirls had double digit kills, with Tiffany Matchet downing 14, Brianna Montano, recording 13, and Cynthia Norris knocking down 11.
Chadron State will try to regroup tomorrow and take down Colorado State University Pueblo, which was swept at Regis Friday evening. Alliance residents with a football ticket, from CSC's noon football game against South Dakota Mines, get free admission to Saturday evening's match.
