CHADRON, Neb. -- August 25, 2023 -- The Chadron State College volleyball team is preparing for their 2023 season opener on Friday, September 1, with high hopes for the season.
 
With a roster of 23, the Eagles return plenty of talent from the 2022 season. A total of four seniors, six juniors, seven sophomores and six freshmen compose the 23-person team.
 
At the net, the team's top nine in kills from a season ago return while the top eight in blocks return defensively.
 
"We have done a lot of hard work in our gym not just in these past two weeks but I am also really proud of the growth we saw over the spring semester," Head Coach Jennifer Stadler said.
 
The top four in each category includes Aiyana Fujiyama, a junior from Wahiawa, Hawaii, who was named Honorable Mention All-RMAC after leading CSC at the net defensively with 93 total blocks, an average of .95 a set. Fujiyama finished fourth for CSC with 140 kills.
 
Mayson Fago, a senior from Evans, Colorado, led CSC with 185 kills and 1.89 kills per set and was third on the team with 51 blocks in 2022.
 
Lexi Hurtado and Bella Adams finished second and third with 178 and 167 kills, respectively. Adams had a team high hitting percentage of .254.
 
Adams, a sophomore from Pueblo, Colorado, was second with 76 total blocks, while Hurtado, a senior from Aurora, Colorado, was fourth with 42 blocks.
 
The fifth and final player to have over 100 kills a season ago is Amber Harvey, a junior from Centennial, Colorado, who had 123 kills.
 
Other returners from last season that received valuable playing time include Rylee Greiman, Allie Ferguson, Natali Keni, Kiera Alfred and Kiley West.
 
Greiman will most likely be a starter for the fifth straight season on September 1. A graduate student from Windsor, Colorado, Greiman finished 2022 with 249 digs, an average of 2.59 a set while playing libero. She led the team with 27 service aces.
 
West, a sophomore from Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the only returner to record over 50 assists, finishing with 268 a year ago, an average of 3.27 a set.
 
Ferguson, a senior from Chadron, appeared in 26 of the teams 27 matches a year ago, while Keni appeared in 14 and Alfred played in 13.
 
Newcomers include one transfer and five freshmen. The transfer is Alondra Hernandez, a junior from Provo, Utah.
 
Hernandez joins the program after spending a season at DI Norfolk State and two seasons at Central Wyoming College (CWC). While at CWC, she was the Region Nine Conference Libero of the Year during both her seasons.
 
At the net, Kally Kirkwood from Fleming, Colorado, joins the team as a middle hitter. Burns, Wyoming native Emma Norris and Windsor, Colorado native Avery Lacy both are outside hitters.
 
Cydney Eskew, a freshman from Casper, Wyoming is listed on the team's roster as a setter. Katie Bell of Fort Morgan, Colorado and Josie Loosvelt of York, Nebraska are both defensive specialists.
 
After hosting an intra-squad scrimmage today, CSC will open their season with a home tournament on September 1 and 2.
 
"Everyone is really providing an impact contributing and the buy in into our culture and the things that we want to do is really good right now. We are excited to get across the net from someone and see what we can do," Stadler said.