CHADRON, Neb. – After a thrilling week with two five-setters and a Player of the Week win, Chadron State volleyball will conclude its regular season with a pair of midweek matches on the road. 

Chadron State (5-19, 1-11 RMAC) will meet Colorado Christian (15-9, 7-5 RMAC) in Lakewood, Colorado this Wednesday before traveling to Las Vegas, New Mexico to take on New Mexico Highlands (5-19, 2-10 RMAC) on Friday. First serve is set for 6 p.m. for both matches.  

There's a lot to play for, including spots in the final standings and the potential to host a competition pod next season.

Looking Back
Chadron State's final two home matches of the season were both instant classics, with the Eagles ending up on either side of a five-set result, defeating Black Hills State and falling to South Dakota Mines.

RECAPS: Black Hills State | South Dakota Mines

The Eagles engineered a reverse sweep of the Yellow Jackets, coming from two sets down for the first time this season and first time since CSC's memorable win over Colorado School of Mines last year. 

Although the Eagles came up short against South Dakota Mines on Senior Night, CSC was a thorn in the side of the Hardrockers all season long. Despite a potentially historic season for South Dakota Mines (who are currently third place in the RMAC standings, which would be a program record for best finish), the Eagles went toe-to-toe with the Hardrockers all season, going 1-2 with two of the three matches going the full five sets. 

Player of the Week
Chadron State made more program history this past Monday, as Alondra Hernandez took home the RMAC Defensive Player of the Week award, marking the first time in exactly five years Chadron State has earned one of the conference's weekly honors. 

STORY: Hernandez Wins VB Defensive Player of the Week

Hernandez earned the award after putting up a combined 52 digs in two five-set matches last week. The senior libero had 27 in the win over Black Hills State along with five service aces before recording 25 digs in the loss to South Dakota Mines. 

Hernandez averaged 5.2 digs/set, outpacing her season average of 4.95 digs/set which leads the conference. She has now recorded 20 digs or more in 10 matches this season after doing so twice last weekend. 

For Chadron State volleyball, it is the first weekly award win in any category – offensive, defensive or setter – for the Chadron State volleyball program since now-assistant coach Ashton Burditt and Chandler Hageman each won defensive honors during the 2019 season. 

Burditt earned Defensive Player of the Week honors for the week of September 23 during a season in which she won Co-Defensive Player of the Year. Burditt is also the last CSC volleyball player to win a yearly RMAC award. Hageman won her Defensive Player of the Week honor on November 11, 2019 – exactly five years to the day before Hernandez's award. 

Hernandez will face off against one of her fellow weekly award winners this Wednesday in CCU setter Izzy Jones, who had 67 total assists on the weekend. 

20-Piece
Entering Friday's game against Black Hills State, Chadron State had not had a single attacker record 20 kills in a match this season. After the game, the Eagles had two. 

Both sophomore Kally Kirkwood and freshman Mataya Ward finished with 20 kills in CSC's five-set win over BHSU, a career high for both players. Kirkwood ranks second on the team with 175 kills on the season while Ward is third with 145. 

It was a busy weekend for Kirkwood, who put up 20 kills on Friday then added 15 more during Saturday's five setter. In the game against South Dakota Mines, Kirkwood had 66 attack attempts, which is tied for the most of any one RMAC player in a match this season. 

Ward is emerging as an attacking force late in the season. With her career-high 20 on Friday followed by 11 more kills on Saturday, Ward has now recorded double-digit kills in four of CSC's last five matches and six times total throughout the season. 

RMAC Update
With each RMAC team having either two or three matches remaining, the regular season will conclude at the end of this weekend. 

Plenty of seeding still needs to be worked out, with the top eight teams advancing to the RMAC Tournament and the regular season title coming down to nationally ranked MSU Denver or Colorado Mesa. Colorado Christian, CSC's opponent on Wednesday, is in the thick of the race to qualify for the top eight.
 

Team	RMAC Record	Overall Record
#5 MSU Denver	11-0	21-2
#14 Colorado Mesa	10-1	20-3
South Dakota Mines	9-3	16-8
CSU Pueblo	8-4	15-9
Regis	8-4	12-12
Colorado Christian	7-5	15-9
Westminster	6-5	10-12
Western Colorado	6-6	11-14
Adams State	5-7	10-15
Colorado School of Mines	5-7	9-15
Fort Lewis	5-7	9-15
UCCS	4-7	10-13
New Mexico Highlands	2-10	5-19
Chadron State	1-11	5-19
Black Hills State	1-11	5-19

 
From Chadron State's perspective, the Eagles can finish anywhere between 13^th and 15^th in the conference, but with a head-to-head matchup against New Mexico Highlands remaining, the Eagles have a real chance to climb into that No. 13 slot. 

That would be a significant development because of the RMAC's relatively new "competition pod" weekends, which group teams based on their finish in the standings for nonconference matches the following year. CSC is guaranteed to be in the 13-15 pod, but if the Eagles finish 13^th, they would host the pod, granting Chadron State two extra home games next season. 

New Mexico Highlands closes the year by hosting Chadron State on Friday and Colorado Christian on Saturday. Black Hills State ends by hosting Colorado Mesa and Westminster on Friday and Saturday. 

In the Polls
Chadron State has certainly had a tough schedule up to this point, as the Eagles have faced off against four opponents currently ranked in the nation's Top 15.
In nonconference action, the Eagles battled with No. 4 Nebraska Kearney and No. 13 Point Loma, who is still undefeated at 21-0. In RMAC play, the Eagles have faced No. 5 MSU Denver and No. 14 Colorado Mesa. 

Against the four nationally ranked opponents, the Eagles are a combined 0-4 with one set win, which came against the MSU Denver. The Eagles are the only RMAC team aside from Colorado Mesa to take a set off MSU Denver this season. 

In a preseason vote of the league's head coaches, Chadron State was picked to finish eighth out of 15 teams in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, receiving 96 points in the poll. 

MSU Denver led the way with seven first-place votes and 189 points. The Roadrunners have won the last three RMAC regular season titles. Colorado Mesa received six first-place votes and 183 points to narrowly finish second in the preseason poll. Regis was picked third, receiving the final two first place votes. 

The other teams picked ahead of Chadron by the coaches are South Dakota Mines, CSU Pueblo, Colorado School of Mines and Colorado Christian. After the Eagles in eighth, the rest of the poll is rounded out by Fort Lewis, Westminster, UCCS, Adams State, Western Colorado, Black Hills State and New Mexico Highlands. 

Scouting the Cougars
Colorado Christian is right in the middle of the race for the RMAC Tournament. The Cougars are 15-9 overall and 7-5 in conference play and currently sit in sixth place. 

So far in conference play, CCU has lost to teams above them in the standings (MSU Denver, Regis, CSU Pueblo, Colorado Mesa, South Dakota Mines) but defeated everybody behind them (Colorado School of Mines, Fort Lewis, Western Colorado, UCCS, Adams State, Westminster, Black Hills State). 

The Cougars have two attackers who rank in the RMAC's top six in hitting percentage – senior Lilly Woods (fourth at .357, 159 kills) and junior Renee Phillips (sixth at .343, 221 kills). Senior Abby Newell leads the Cougars with 244 kills total, and her 3.34 kills/set ranks seventh in the RMAC. 

Setter Izzy Jones ranks second in the RMAC with 10.82 assists per set and is the reigning RMAC Setter of the Week. Defensive specialist Shelby Hernandez is third in the RMAC with 4.77 digs per set, trailing CSC's Alondra Hernandez and SDM's Hannah Benes. Woods also ranks fourth in the RMAC with 99 blocks. 

Head coach Bobby Blanken arrived at CCU in 2017. Prior to that, he was an assistant with longtime RMAC power MSU Denver for three years and a head coach at The Master's College in Santa Clarita, California. Chadron State is 18-24 all time against CCU, but broke a long losing streak against the Cougars with a four-set victory last season. Prior to that, CCU had won nine in a row.

Scouting the Cowgirls
New Mexico Highlands is 5-19 overall, the same record as Chadron State, with a 2-10 mark in RMAC play. The Cowgirls earned their RMAC victories against Colorado School of Mines on October 11 and Adams State on September 20, both at home. 

They have lost seven straight RMAC matches entering Friday's contest, but just two straight overall as they defeated Black Hills State in a competition pod match on November 1. The Yellow Jackets defeated NMHU in four sets in conference play, however. 

Sophomore outside hitter Jaylee Gonzales has been Highlands' best attacker all season, putting up 204 kills on 758 attempts, hitting .121. Setter Abby Carlsen ranks ninth in the RMAC with 6.34 assists per set. Freshman Meg Pfannerstill leads the team with 210 digs (2.4/set) while senior middle blocker Jada Lawson leads with 70 blocks. 

Head Coach Meg Grose is in her first season as the head coach at NMHU, but is no stranger to the school. Grose was an assistant coach from 2020-2022 before spending the 2023 season as the head coach at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. Chadron State is 12-7 all-time against New Mexico Highlands. The Eagles have won three out of the last four matchups, including two wins last season. 

Coach's Corner
Head Coach Jennifer Stadler will begin her sixth season at the helm of the Chadron State volleyball program in 2024. 

In her first year in charge in 2019, Stadler immediately led the Eagles to a winning record of 14-12. That year, Stadler coached the RMAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year in Ashton Burditt, who is now an assistant coach on her staff.

The Eagles had a banner year in 2023, finishing 15-12 for the program's highest win total since 2003. Chadron also had an 8-6 conference mark in 2023, finishing sixth in the league and qualifying for the RMAC Tournament for the first time in 20 years. 

Prior to CSC, Stadler coached for eight seasons at Sheridan College in Wyoming, racking up three straight 20-win seasons from 2012-2014. She was a player, assistant coach and interim head coach at current RMAC foe Black Hills State, back when the Yellow Jackets competed in the Dakota Athletic Conference. 

Entering the 2024 season, Stadler has a career record of 45-74 at Chadron State.