CHADRON, Neb. -- September 16, 2017 -- Chadron State College dropped a 3-1 volleyball match to Metropolitan State University of Denver that was harder fought than the score would suggest. The Eagles went into the third set after outhitting the defending Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champ .370 to .333, but fell short in the third and fourth sets to go to 3-7 (0-2 RMAC) to begin conference play. MSU Denver, who lost to Regis on Friday night, is now 4-6 (1-1 RMAC).

CSC Head Volleyball Coach praised the middle frontcourt players once again, but said the team needs to play like they did in the second set more often.

"I'm not disappointed that we went out and played toe-to-toe with one of the top two teams in the league," said Mullis. "We showed tonight that we wanted to compete. Nae [Aijahnae Springs) was exciting to watch tonight, but we're just one hitter away from winning that match, and when Gaby [Varela] returns we're a much better team."

The Roadrunner hitters were on point all night, and CSC started out with a few flubs in the opening volleys to give the visitors a cushion. The Eagles soon settled in and controlled mistakes for the rest of the first set while MSUD cruised to a 1-0 lead.

The second set was the highlight for Chadron State who saw junior Springs and middle hitter Timmi Keisel take over the match in spurts. Springs finished with 11 kills and only four hitting errors to lead the team in points. Keisel and fellow middle McKenna Hartigan each scored six kills to tie for second. Keisel was also part of the Eagles' only block along with right side hitter Dominika Senkerikova.

However, the Roadrunners' offensive surge couldn't be stopped, as they had a .339 hitting percentage for the four sets of the match and rolled to wins in sets three and four.

MSU Denver's Santaisha Sturges (14), Vasati Fiatoa (11) and Taylor Duryea (10) all finished with double-digit kills, and setter Alyssa Svalberg had a stellar 45 assists for 11.25 per set.

The Eagles are on the road next weekend at Western State Colorado University and Colorado Mesa University at 7 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively on Friday and Saturday.