CHADRON, Neb. -- September 5, 2017 -- This weekend, the Chadron State College volleyball team will take part in the Missouri Southern Invitational Classic in Joplin, Missouri. The Eagles' opponents on Friday will be the host Lions and Arkansas Tech. On Saturday, they will play the Maryville Saints from St. Louis and another Arkansas team, Ouachita Baptist.

Both of the Arkansas teams went 4-0 while opening their seasons last weekend.  Arkansas Tech dealt No. 18 Washburn its only loss so far, and was nearly flawless losing two sets in four matches in Topeka, Kan., before sweeping a couple of NAIA opponents on Tuesday. Ouachita Baptist is now 5-0 after a perfect showing at a tournament in southeastern Oklahoma, followed by a Tuesday evening victory at home over an NAIA guest.

Like the Eagles, Missouri Southern was at the Bulldog Bash and defeated York, but the Lions lost to both Concordia and Mary by 3-1 margins. They were 6-25 a year ago.

Maryville went 0-4 during a classic in Texas, losing all four matches in straight sets and scoring as many as 20 points in just two of the 12 sets. One of their opponents was No. 25 Tarleton State. The Saints were a 4-26 team comprised of 14 players last year, nine of whom were freshmen.

The Eagles come into the MSSU tournament at 2-2 after a competitive tournament in eastern Nebraska. Chadron State junior Andi Dowell emerged as one of the hitters to watch going forward, and senior Gaby Varela had some big matches on offense. Captains Emily Bruce, Madison Webb, and Mickey Trimble each had a solid weekend as well.

Varela suffered an ankle sprain near the end of the tournament last weekend, and sat in the final set of the win against the University of Mary. She is day-to-day and will be re-evaluated throughout the week.