CHADRON, Neb. -- October 21, 2017 -- Chadron State College volleyball powered to its eighth win of the season on Saturday, already topping last year's total of seven. The Eagles overwhelmed the visiting Colorado State University-Pueblo ThunderWolves, winning 3-1 (25-27, 25-14, 25-23, 25-15) as they outhit their opponents .302 to .188 for their best single-match hitting percentage all season.

"I'm really happy with how we responded tonight," said Head Coach Riann Mullis. "Last night, we suffered a really bad loss, and that was tough for us. The girls wanted to win tonight, though, and they overcame and they won. It might have been the best match we've played, from a statistical side."

The Eagles also nearly matched their season-high for digs. Only in the two matches which went to five sets, against Missouri Southern and Westminster, have they recorded a slightly better number. CSC finished with 73 in each of those matches.

A slow start for the Eagles in set one was erased by a 10-2 run as they jumped up 20-18. The ThunderWolf blockers regained momentum for the visitors, and CSC fought off set point three times before finally losing two straight points to drop the set 25-27.

After that, the momentum shifted mightily as CSC rolled to a 25-14 equalizer, and recorded five team blocks in set three to go up 2-1. 

The fourth and final set was relaxed for the Eagles as the ThunderWolves hit eight errors and only nine kills, while CSC libero Emily Bruce racked up digs. Bruce, a senior, finished with 31 on the night for an average of 7.75 per set. Her single-match total was the highest by any Eagle since 25-point rally scoring began in 2008.

Another senior, Gaby Varela, double-doubled for the second night in a row with 17 kills and 11 digs. True freshman McKenna Hartigan had far and away her best night as an Eagle, downing 11 kills on only 15 attempts, with no errors. That was good for a .733 hitting clip, which counts as the second-best this season in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference under league criteria. It would qualify for the CSC record books as the third-best all-time with just one more kill to meet the minimum criteria of 12.

Megan Chintala's 11 digs matched her best of the season, and she finished with zero serve-receive errors.

Chadron State volleyball will try to "Pack the Nest" on Friday, October 27, as they host Colorado School of Mines at 6 p.m. Admission to the match is free with a donation of a non-perishable food item.