CHADRON, Neb. – Coming off their first postseason appearance in 20 years, the Chadron State volleyball program will open their 2024 season this weekend with four matches in Southern California at the San Diego Invite.

CSC's first serve of the season will be Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. (MT) at Point Loma. The Eagles will play a pair of matches Friday on the campus of Cal State San Marcos, facing Vanguard, another California school, at 10 a.m. and Simon Fraser, the NCAA's only Canadian institution, at 5:30 p.m.

Chadron will then face Cal State San Marcos on Saturday at 10 a.m. in Point Loma's gym, making it officially the third-straight neutral site game of the weekend for the Eagles.

Matches can be streamed via pay-per-view. The two matches at Point Loma can be streamed on the PacWest network, while the matches at CSUSM are available with a FloSports subscription. Fans can also follow the game via live stats for all matches.

Looking Back
Chadron State volleyball enjoyed its most successful season in 20 years in 2023. The Eagles finished 15-12 with an 8-6 RMAC record – the program's highest win total since going 17-11 in 2003 – and finished in sixth place in the conference standings to advance to the RMAC Tournament for the first time since that 2003 season.

The Eagles had a memorable win over Colorado School of Mines to open conference play, coming back from two sets down to beat the Orediggers for the first time since 2007.

Chadron State fell to third-seeded Regis in the first round of the RMAC tournament, as the Rangers swept the Eagles 25-13, 25-19, 25-18.

The Roster
Chadron's attack will look a little different in 2024, as the Eagles lose their top two kill leaders from a season ago in Lexi Hurtado and Mayson Fago.

Junior Bella Adams and senior Aiyana Fujiyama lead CSC's returners after both started all 27 of Chadron's matches last season. Adams, a Pueblo, Colorado native, finished with 208 kills while hitting .276 and led the team with 96 blocks. Fujiyama, a senior from Hawaii, was second behind Adams with 76 blocks and had the team's top hitting percentage a season ago at .291.

Libero Alondra Hernandez, a senior from Provo, Utah, returns after leading the team with 432 digs and 39 aces. Setter Kendyl Kirkwood is also back for her senior season after racking up 795 assists in 2023. Sophomores Avery Lacy (196 digs, 29 aces) and Kally Kirkwood (122 kills) will look to build on promising freshman campaigns.

The Eagles have added two freshmen and two transfers to the roster for 2024. Junior outside hitter Alejandra Briseno, who hails from Jalisco, Mexico, joins CSC after a stint at Hutchinson Community College.

CSC has also added a graduate student setter in Sofia Langer, who has played at Lewis-Clark State, Central Wyoming College and Division I Norfolk State across her collegiate career.

Chadron's two freshmen are outside hitter Mataya Ward, out of Belle Fourche, South Dakota, and right side Danika Hassel, a Bayard High School graduate.

RMAC Projections
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.

That outcome would be a slight step back for the Eagles, who finished sixth in the league in 2023, but is an improvement over last season's preseason poll, when the Eagles were projected to finish 11^th.

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.

Schedule Breakdown
The Eagles will play their first eight matches away from the Chicoine Center, with four this weekend in San Diego and four next weekend in Kearney.

Chadron's home opener and RMAC opener will be Friday, September 20 against Colorado School of Mines, the first meeting between the two since CSC's upset win last season. The Eagles will then host MSU Denver on Saturday, September 21. The Roadrunners are currently ranked No. 7 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Preseason Poll.

Other home highlights include an RMAC Tournament rematch with Regis on Saturday, October 12, and two home rivalry matchups with South Dakota Mines on Tuesday, October 1 and Saturday, November 9. The November 9 match will be a conference match and count in the RMAC standings.

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.

Scouting Report
The Eagles will receive a test out of the gate in Point Loma, the defending PacWest conference champions. The Sea Lions finished 21-7 and were 18-2 in PacWest play.

Point Loma were the co-preseason favorites with Chaminade in the PacWest's preseason Coaches Poll. The Sea Lions return AVCA All-Americans Abigail Nua and Anna Massari.

Vanguard, who the Eagles will face Friday morning, is in its first Division II season after beginning its transition from the NAIA. In fact, Chadron State will be the Lions' first opponent as a Division II institution.

Vanguard was very good at the NAIA level last season, finishing 29-2 and advancing to the national quarterfinals. Because of that pedigree, the Lions were picked seventh out of 14 teams in the conference despite being new to Division II.

Simon Fraser, located in Burnaby, British Columbia just outside of Vancouver, is the only Canadian NCAA member school. The Red Leafs compete in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and were picked to finish fourth in that conference's preseason poll, the same spot they finished last season.

The Red Leafs went 16-10 last year and return first-team all-conference hitter Brooke Dexter, who averaged 2.67 kills per set in 2023.

Cal State San Marcos, the co-hosts of the invite and Chadron State's opponent on Saturday, were picked seventh out of 12 teams in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) preseason poll.

The Cougars went 12-15 last season with a 10-8 conference mark, snagging the last spot in the CCAA Tournament. They will have a veteran group returning after graduating just two seniors last season.