CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State volleyball jumped out to a two-sets-to-none lead, but couldn't hold it, losing to a comeback effort from the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs in a five-set match at the Chicoine Center, as the Mountain Lions prevailed over the Eagles 20-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-22, 15-9.
The loss drops the Eagles to 4-11 overall and 0-5 in RMAC play. It also snaps a two-game win streak for Chadron State after two nonconference wins last week over South Dakota Mines and Black Hills State.
Freshman
Mataya Ward of Belle Fourche, South Dakota, finished with a career-high and team-high 12 kills in the losing effort.
Aiyana Fujiyama also had double-digit kills, with 10, and hit .400 for the match.
Alondra Hernandez tied a season-high with 32 digs.
The Eagles hit .161 as a team, with 55 kills and 25 attack errors. UCCS hit .207, with 62 kills and 22 attack errors. Both teams had nine service aces apiece while the Mountain Lions finished with nine total blocks compared to Chadron State's six.
Chadron State started strong, with four of the six blocks for the match coming in the first set. CSC got out to leads of 3-0, 7-2 and 11-4, with a
Kendyl Kirkwood kill opening up the seven-point advantage. Two kills from
Bella Adams and a kill from Ward in a four-point span made it 22-16 Eagles, before a UCCS service error closed out the set, 25-21.
UCCS opened the second set with an ace, but Chadron State used a 4-0 scoring run to take a 5-2 lead, punctuated by a combo block from Adams and
Natali Keni. Trailing 19-16, the Eagles roared back with a kill from
Alejandra Briseno followed by a Briseno ace.
After a UCCS point, the Eagles got a
Kendyl Kirkwood set to
Kally Kirkwood kill followed by a Mountain Lions ball handling error to tie the score 20-20. At 21-21, Chadron State took the set by winning each of the final four points courtesy of UCCS attack errors, including a block by Ward and Fujiyama.
In set three, UCCS jumped out to an early lead, and while Chadron State battled back to tie the score on four occasions, the Eagles never led in the set. Chadron State saved three set points to turn a 24-18 deficit into a 24-21 deficit, including a crazy rally where Hernandez made a dig with the top of her head on the way to CSC winning the point, but the Mountain Lions responded with a kill out of a timeout to take the third.
Offenses ruled the fourth set, as UCCS hit .366 while the Eagles hit .275. Chadron State had a 22-20 lead and were three points away from a match win, but UCCS went on a 5-0 run to steal the set, notching back-to-back aces to seal it.
In the decisive fifth set, the Eagles unfortunately could not get out of their own way, recording five kills compared to six attack errors for a -.038 hitting percentage in the set. Chadron State briefly led 2-0, but UCCS had two separate 4-0 runs to take a 9-5 lead and earned their final six points of the match on two CSC service errors and four attack errors.
Chadron State will hit the court again Saturday night at the Chicoine Center against Regis University, the defending RMAC Tournament champions. The Rangers (8-7, 4-1 RMAC) defeated Colorado Christian in four sets Friday night. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
