CHADRON, Neb. -- September 14, 2021 -- The Chadron State College volleyball team will travel to face its first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opponents of the season this weekend.
The Eagles will face Adams State (4-5) on Friday at 7 p.m. followed by New Mexico Highlands (2-6), who pushed Saturday's match from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The ASU Grizzlies are coming off two road losses against 16th ranked Southwest Minnesota State (8-0) and Fort Hays State (5-3), a team that the Eagles defeated 3-0 earlier this season.
The Grizzlies are offensively led by outside hitter Sai Collins and setter Bailey Schlosser. Through 32 sets played, Collins leads the team in kills (92), kills per set (2.88), and total attempts (270). Schlosser has 151 assists on the year at a rate of 9.44 assists per set.
Defensively, Adams State is led by middle hitter Shannon Mulkey and libero Sierra Leone Sanchez. Mulkey currently has four solo blocks and 28 assisted blocks on the year. Sanchez has 103 digs and only seven return errors on the year.
Adams State is coached by Lindy Mortensen, who is entering her 16th year of coaching the Grizzlies
The Highlands Cowgirls are also coming off multiple road losses after going 1-3 in the Northern State Invitational. One of those losses came from South Dakota Mines (6-2), an RMAC team that the Eagles will face twice later this season.
The Cowgirls are offensively led by outside hitter Lisi Langi, who leads her team in kills (106), kills per set (3.31), points (125), points per set (3.91), service aces (11) and total attempts (323).
Another offensive leader is setter Soleil Gandara, who leads the team with 206 assists at 6.65 assists per set.
Defensive specialist Elena Rivera and middle hitter Angelina Oliver are the Cowgirls' defensive leaders. Rivera has earned 142 digs on the season, at a rate of 4.44 digs per set. Oliver has five solo blocks and 22 assisted blocks, which is a team high 27 blocks.
The team is coached by Tom Duke, a former Highlands head volleyball coach from 2002 to 2007 who was brought back to coach the Cowgirls in the spring of 2020.
