CHADRON, Neb. -- November 3, 2021 -- The Chadron State College volleyball team (4-17, 2-12 RMAC) is set to face Colorado Mesa (17-4, 12-2 RMAC) and Westminster (5-19, 3-11 RMAC) in their final home Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference matches of the season this weekend.
Friday's match against the Mavericks is slated for a 6 p.m. start time. Saturday's Senior Night match against the Griffins is set for 4 p.m. Following the match is the When Eagles Dare benefit auction and social, which is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. in the Chadron Arts Center, after a dinner at 6:30. All proceeds from Saturday's ticket sales and auctions will go toward Chadron State College athletic scholarships.
The Colorado Mesa Mavericks are coming off a 3-1 victory over Western Colorado (12-10, 7-7 RMAC) and a 3-0 sweep over Fort Lewis (6-12, 6-8 RMAC). Mesa landed 58 total kills against the Mountaineers, 22 of which were recorded by outside hitter Sierra Hunt. Against Fort Lewis, the Mavericks had 47 kills and only seven errors out of 100 total attempts for a team hit percentage of .400.
Historically the Eagles have won only six matches against Colorado Mesa, with their last victory coming from a 15-12, 15-12, 15-13 sweep in 1995. CSC will be looking to snap the 25-year win drought come Friday.
The Mavericks have a high-powered offense that features five players with over 100 kills. The most lethal of the group is outside hitter Sydney Leffler, who is first in the RMAC in kills per set (3.49), eighth in kills (248), 14th in hitting percentage (.278), and eighth in total points (267.5).
Sabrina VanDeList is the lone starting setter for the Mavericks. She has put up 811 assists at a rate of 10.53 assists per set, which ranks her in the top five among all setters in the conference.
Mesa's defensive leaders are middle hitter Tye Wedhorn and libero Kerstin Layman. Wedhorn is the Mavericks' current leader in block solos (14) and block assists (56). Her 70 total blocks rank eighth best in the RMAC. Layman is responsible for 343 digs on the season at a rate of 4.45 digs per set, which ranks first in the league.
Colorado Mesa is coached by head coach Dave Fleming, who is in his 17th season coaching the Mavericks. He is joined by David Skaff, Bri Strong, and Russ Spotts.
The Westminster Griffins are coming off a 3-2 victory of Fort Lewis and a 3-1 loss to Western Colorado. Against Fort Lewis they posted 67 total kills and 18 errors out of 170 total attempts for a hit percentage of .288. In their loss to the Mountaineers, they were held to 49 kills and allowed 10 total services throughout the match.
Since joining the RMAC in 2015, the record between the Eagles and Griffins is tied 3-3. Chadron State's last win came in a 2019 3-2 thriller during Head Volleyball Coach Jennifer Stadler's first year at CSC. The Griffins stole sets one and four at 25-19 apiece while the Eagles flew away with wins of 25-22 in set two, 25-17 in set three, and 16-14 in set five.
The Griffins' best offensive players are outside hitter Lydia Miller and setter Bri Mortensen. Miller is the current team leader in points (249.5), points per set (2.65), kills (211) and kills per set (2.24). Mortensen leads the team with 549 assists at a rate of 6.86 assists per set.
Defensive leaders for Westminster are middle hitter Avery Alger and libero Alanna Lee. Alger has landed 10 block solos and 39 block assists for a team-high 49 total blocks. Lee currently has 372 digs on the season, which is second-best in the RMAC.
Westminster is coached by third-year head coach Karrin Moore and assistant coach Stephanie Jones-Morin.
