SPEARFISH, S.D. – Chadron State came up short in its first of two midweek matches this season, losing to conference rivals Black Hills State in straight sets – 25-22, 25-19, 25-21.
It is the second loss to Black Hills State that the Eagles have had this season, but this loss comes in an RMAC match to drop CSC to 4-15 overall and 1-8 in the RMAC. Black Hills State, which snapped a three-game losing streak, is 6-13 and 2-7.
Mataya Ward had 13 kills to lead the Eagles, who finished with two more kills than BHSU over the course of the match (44-42). Bella Adams added 10 kills on a .250 hitting percentage.
Chadron State racked up 76 digs, tied for the second-most by the Eagles in a match this season and the most in a three-set match. Four Eagles finished with double-digit digs, led by Avery Lacy with a team-high 19. Gibson Beckler added 13, Josie Loosvelt had 11, and Jillian Donovan had 10 to go with 39 assists.
Lacy, Loosvelt and senior Rylee Ward all spent time in the libero jersey throughout the match, with Loosvelt and Ward splitting duties in the first two sets before Lacy took it over in the third. Donovan finished with 39 assists (her fourth-highest total of the season).
Chadron State matched up with Black Hills statistically except for two key areas. Aside from finishing with more kills, the Eagles had the edge in aces (5-4) while the two teams finished dead-even in assists (41-41) and digs (76-76).
The two biggest discrepancies that swung points the Yellow Jackets' way were hitting errors and blocks. The Eagles finished with 23, their third-highest total in a match this season, while BHSU had only nine, the third fewest by a CSC opponent. Also, the Yellow Jackets more than doubled up the Eagles on total blocks (11-5), including seven from Izabel Abril and six from Peyton McLeod.
Black Hills took control of the first set, opening a 7-2 lead, but the Eagles rallied to tie it at 18-18 after a 5-1 run. The Eagles competed offensively, tallying eight of their last nine points of the set via kill along with a service ace. In that same span, however, the Yellow Jackets recorded five of eight points from CSC errors (mostly Yellow Jacket blocks) to take the set 25-22.
The Yellow Jackets wrestled control of the second set with a 6-0 scoring run in the middle of the set to turn an 8-8 tie into a 14-8 lead. Although a Shelby Harding ace pulled the Eagles within two points at 17-15, another 4-0 Yellow Jackets run pushed it back up to six and BHSU closed out the second margin by that margin.
Chadron State struck first for the first time in the third set, with a Lacy ace giving the Eagles a 4-2 lead and a Beckler ace stretching it to 14-10 before the Yellow Jackets took the lead for the first time at 16-15, punctuating a 4-0 run with an ace of their own. The Yellow Jackets won six of the final eight points, with BHSU's final five points being kills, winning the third set 25-21.
The Eagles have a three-day rest before a Saturday night showdown with South Dakota Mines (5-13, 3-5 RMAC) at 6 p.m. in the Chicoine Center.
