SPEARFISH, S.D.. – Chadron State volleyball took a two-set lead but couldn't hold it, falling in five sets on the road to Black Hills State – 13-25, 18-25, 25-19, 29-27, 15-8 – in a nonconference matchup to conclude the RMAC's regional pod week on Saturday afternoon.
Gibson Beckler had 23 kills and hit .389 in the five-set effort for the Eagles, who are now 4-10 this season and drop to 0-3 in five-set matches. Mataya Ward added 18 kills while Bella Adams (nine kills, .320 pct) and Chloe Grady (seven kills, .353 pct) also had efficient offensive performances with only one attack error apiece.
Jillian Donovan set a new career high with 56 assists at the setter position, also finishing with 10 digs for her third double-double of the season. Avery Lacy tallied 32 digs, the most by any Eagle in a single match this year, to lead the Eagle defense while Beckler added 19 and Shelby Harding tallied 14 to each record double-digit digs for the second time in as many nights.
Harding also racked up five service aces, which is tied for the second-most by a single RMAC player in one match this season. The Eagles had 11 as a team, setting a new program single-match high for 2025, as Jillian Donovan added two while Beckler, Adams, Lacy and Kally Kirkwood all poured in one.
The Eagles looked to be in command early, combining for 35 kills against six errors through the match's first two sets and hitting .341 in the first and .400 in the second as a team.
Chadron State trailed early in the first set but turned a 12-11 deficit into a 23-12 lead with a 12-0 avalanche that featured three Harding aces, four Beckler kills and a combo block from Kally Kirkwood and Bella Adams. Kirkwood finished with a team-high three blocks. After BHSU came up with a kill to halt the 12-0 run, Chadron State scored the next two points on kills from Adams and Chloe Grady to take set one by a 25-13 score.
CSC took the initiative in set two, opening up a 9-4 lead after kills from Adams and Grady. Chadron State scored each of its final five points of the set via kill, including three of five in that stretch coming from Adams, as the Eagles closed out set two, 25-18.
After CSC was relatively cruising through the night's first two sets, the match seemed to turn during the marathon fourth set. A Gibson Beckler kill gave Chadron State a 24-22 lead with two match points to earn the win, but Black Hills State's Carsyn Mettler answered with a kill and a solo block to tie the score.
Chadron State had three other match points in the set – taking leads at 25-24, 26-25, and 27-26 from two Mataya Ward kills and a BH attack error – but each time, the Yellow Jackets answered with a point to extend the match. By contrast, when the Yellow Jackets took a 28-27 lead (their first in the set since 16-15), BHSU converted their first set point with a Randi Wellhoefer kill.
After that emotional sequence juiced up the home crowd at the Donald E. Young Center, Black Hills State capitalized on the momentum and never trailed in the deciding fifth set. The Yellow Jackets reached the final margin of victory by taking a 10-3 lead, eventually winning 15-8.
The fourth set featured 18 ties and nine lead changes. Black Hills State had 20 kills in the fourth set and had a team hitting percentage of .400 in the fifth set. After CSC's first two sets of hitting .340 or better, the team hit .154 or worse in sets three, four and five.
Chadron State will have two more chances to beat Black Hills State (5-9) later this season, facing the Yellow Jackets in an RMAC contest in Spearfish on October 21, then hosting BHSU as part of the RMAC's Power Pod in the Chicoine Center on October 30.
Chadron State (4-10, 1-3 RMAC) will return to RMAC conference play and finish the back half of their four-game road trip next weekend, traveling to Alamosa and Las Vegas to face Adams State (6-9, 1-3 RMAC) on Friday, October 10 at 6 p.m. and New Mexico Highlands (5-9, 0-4 RMAC) the following day at 3 p.m.
