DENVER – Chadron State held its nerve and staved off a comeback attempt from the Regis Rangers, finishing out a five-set win – 25-15, 25-22, 22-25, 23-25, 15-8 – on a Tuesday night match from the Regis Field House in Denver.
The victory is CSC volleyball's first over Regis since the 2007 season, a 30-21, 27-30, 30-25, 29-31, 15-10 marathon five-setter. Since then, Regis had won 27 straight meetings, a streak snapped by Tuesday's result.
The win improves Chadron State to 10-13 overall and 3-8 in the RMAC, with three wins in its last five matches. Regis falls to 3-21 and 1-10 in conference play. The result bucked trends for both teams in five set matches, as CSC entered play 1-5 in five-setters while Regis had been 3-1.
The 10
th win this season is also a major milestone for CSC volleyball, with the Eagles now officially reaching double digit wins for the first time since 2023, third time in coach
Jennifer Stadler's tenure and only the fifth time in the last 20 seasons.
Mataya Ward and
Gibson Beckler tied for the team lead with 14 kills each while
Sarah Meservey finished with a season-high 11 kills, zero attack errors and a .440 hitting percentage.
Defensively, Chadron State combined for 16 blocks, tied for their second-highest single-match total of the season.
Sydney Strode had a career-high eight, Meservey also had eight, including two solos, and
Kally Kirkwood racked up six to spearhead the Eagle block.
Josie Loosvelt recorded a career-high 22 digs, six more than her previous career high and nine more than her previous season high, and hit two aces for the second time this season.
Avery Lacy (14 digs) and
Jillian Donovan (13) also chipped in to CSC's 88 digs as a team.
Chadron State hit .400 or better in two of five sets, tallying 14 kills against only two errors to hit .400 exactly in set number two, then hit .450 in the deciding fifth set with 10 kills against one error.
For the match, the Eagles hit .219 and had six more kills (61-55). Regis hit .124, the fifth-worst percentage by a CSC opponent.
The Eagles jumped out to a two-set lead, taking advantage of a .031 hitting performance in the first set by Regis to lead 7-1 early and collect an easy 25-15 set win.
In the second set, CSC flexed its offensive efficiency to keep pace with a Regis team that led from the start of the set up until the Eagles used a 4-1 run to edge ahead, 21-20. Chadron State won the final three points on a Ward kill, Meservey ace and Kirkwood/Strode block to win 25-22.
CSC led 10-2 in the third set and were hunting the sweep, but Regis rallied with a 7-0 run to immediately get right back in it. Regis reversed the second set outcome with its own 3-0 run turning a 22-22 tie into a 25-22 set decision, this time for the hosts.
The fourth set featured a combined 17 attack errors from both teams. Chadron State led 6-1, but again, the Rangers battled back to tie at 14-14. The Eagles led 23-21, two points from finishing out the match, but the Rangers answered with four straight points to send the game to a deciding fifth set.
For the third set in a row, Chadron State jumped out to a huge lead, and this time, the Eagles kept it. A Meservey/Ward block followed by a Beckler kill gave Chadron State a 6-2 lead, and a Kirkwood/Strode block put CSC up 8-3 at the media timeout. Regis tried to close the gap with a 4-1 run, but CSC responded with a 6-1 run, as kills from
Brandi Helzer and two from Ward preceded an
Avery Lacy ace to end the match.
The Eagles still have matches on both Friday and Saturday this week, both at home. CSC faces Colorado Mesa on Friday, which will feature Trunk or Treat pre-match and the Homecoming Court honored between sets, before a Saturday match against Westminster that will feature a Senior Night postgame ceremony.
