CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State battled and had a set point in the second set, but the UCCS Mountain Lions rose to the occasion with a couple gritty set wins to defeat the Eagles in straight sets – 25-19, 26-24, 25-22 – during Saturday evening RMAC volleyball action in the Chicoine Center.
Kally Kirkwood led the team with 10 kills and hit a season-best .381 in the effort for Chadron State, while Josie Loosvelt took primary control of the libero position for CSC and recorded a team-high 13 digs.
Chadron State (4-14, 1-7 RMAC) lost in three sets for the third consecutive match, but the Eagles were far more competitive in their second match of the weekend against a UCCS team with a sparkling record (16-2, 7-1 RMAC).
The Eagles finished with fewer attack errors than the Mountain Lions (12 vs. 13) and hit .206 as a team to attack better than .200 for the eighth time in their 18 matches in 2025. Chadron State also finished with the same number of aces (6-6) and blocks (5-5) against their co-RMAC leading opponents.
In the opening frame, UCCS raced out to an 11-5 lead and led by as many as nine after a Payton Tompkins ace made it 21-12. Chadron State rallied with a 5-1 run to cut the lead to five after two kills from Mataya Ward (who finished with eight) and one from Chloe Grady, but service errors on back-to-back serving opportunities gave UCCS its final two points as the visitors won set one, 25-19.
The second set was CSC's best. The Eagles hit .324 in the set by racking up 13 kills against only one attack error.
Chadron State took initiative by building a 4-1 lead, although UCCS tied it up soon after. Kirkwood took over, recording three kills and a block alongside Shelbi Hazlitt in the span of six points while aces from Shelby Harding and Naomi Starr helped CSC build a 14-10 lead.
The Eagles kept the Mountain Lions at arm's length, as UCCS pulled within one point twice, then tied it once at 23-23, only for the Eagles to find a kill each time to maintain the lead. Gibson Beckler's kill gave Chadron State a 24-23 lead with a chance to serve for the set.
UCCS smartly called timeout, and the Eagle serve after the layoff went into the net. The Mountain Lions seized the opening, recording kills by Tompkins and Rylee Pitts for the comeback 26-24 set win.
The second-set reversal of fortunes seemed to take the air out of the sails of CSC. The Mountain Lions jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the third set and led by as many as nine points at 13-4.
The Eagles showed resiliency, cutting the lead to a single point after a 5-0 run with back-to-back kills from Ward and Bella Adams, but CSC could never tie the frame and the Mountain Lions pulled out a 25-22 set win to earn the sweep.
Behind Kirkwood's 10 kills, Mataya Ward had eight and Gibson Beckler had six, with all three recording over 20 attempts, while Adams added five. Beckler also added 11 digs, one of two Eagles in double digits alongside Loosvelt.
CSC has a quick turnaround, heading to Spearfish to face Black Hills State at 6 p.m. The Eagles will not have a Friday match, then will host South Dakota Mines in the Chicoine Center Saturday night at 6 p.m. Unlike the last meetings with their South Dakota rivals, this upcoming week's matches will count in the RMAC standings.
