CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State volleyball won the first set over defending conference champions MSU Denver, but the No. 2 ranked Roadrunners proved their mettle by winning the next three to defeat the Eagles 23-25, 25-21, 25-11, 25-14 at the Chicoine Center. 

Kally Kirkwood and Alejandra Briseno had nine kills apiece for Chadron State while Alondra Hernandez racked up 14 digs. 

The Eagles (2-8, 0-2 RMAC) lost their third straight match but won a set over the Roadrunners (9-1, 2-0 RMAC) for the second straight season after MSU Denver had previously swept the Eagles seven consecutive times from 2018-2022. MSU Denver has won the last 26 meetings between the two schools.

Chadron State got off to a dream start in front of a raucous home crowd. The two squads traded points after first serve until MSU Denver went on a 4-0 run to open up an 11-6 lead. The Eagles responded immediately, however, taking advantage of a service error and four straight MSU Denver attack errors to tie the score at 11. 

The Roadrunners stopped the bleeding with a kill, but back-to-back kills by Briseno gave CSC its first lead of the match at 13-12. Attack errors continued to plague the Roadrunners in the first set, as three more across the next five points helped Chadron take a 17-13 lead. 

With Chadron State up by one at 22-21, sophomore Avery Lacy and senior Aiyana Fujiyama each tallied kills only for MSU Denver to answer with a kill of their own both times. The Eagles led 24-23 when an MSU Denver service error ended the set in Chadron's favor. 

The Eagles hit .292 as a team in the first set, with 11 kills against four errors on 24 attempts. The Roadrunners hit just .135 in set one, racking up 14 kills but making nine errors on 37 total attempts. 

After the first set, however, MSU Denver took control, demonstrating why they have won three consecutive RMAC regular season titles. The Roadrunners improved their efficiency, hitting .265 in the second set, a staggering .520 in the third set and .361 in the fourth and final set. 

The Roadrunners ended the match with 58 kills and 18 attack errors, compared to the 33 kills and 18 errors for Chadron State. MSU Denver recorded 13 aces, nearly offsetting the damage caused by 18 service errors. Chadron State recorded just one ace with nine service errors. 

Junior right side Natali Keni led the Eagles with a .429 hitting percentage on the night, with four kills and one error in seven attempts. Kally Kirkwood hit .276 for the match while Briseno hit .200. 

Chadron State will hit the road for the first time in RMAC play next weekend, traveling to Western Colorado on Friday, September 27 at 6 p.m. and Fort Lewis on Saturday at 7 p.m. Both matches will be available to stream for free on the RMAC Network.