CHADRON, Neb. – As Halloween weekend got underway Friday night against Colorado Mesa, Chadron State volleyball's own gym continued to be a house of horrors for the Eagles, with CSC losing yet another five-setter at home by a score of 25-17, 20-25, 23-25, 25-21, 15-13.
The result drops Chadron State's record to 10-14 overall, 3-9 in the RMAC, and is – amazingly – the sixth fifth-set loss out of seven total home matches played in 2026 for CSC volleyball. With this match also decided by the minimum two points in the fifth set, it now means half of CSC's six five-set losses had a margin of three points or fewer in the fifth.
Colorado Mesa (18-5, 9-2 RMAC) narrowly avoided what would have been a detrimental loss to their RMAC title hopes. The Mavericks are in a three-way tie for second place at 9-2, a game behind first-place MSU Denver.
Gibson Beckler led the Eagles offensively with 14 kills, but
Kally Kirkwood (12 kills, .333 PCT),
Mataya Ward (11 kills) and
Sarah Meservey (10 kills, .471 PCT) also contributed to a balanced CSC attack.
Chadron State doubled up CMU on total blocks, 10-5, with Kirkwood, Meservey and
Sydney Strode all finishing with five apiece. Both teams hammered home aces, with CMU tallying 10 while
Josie Loosvelt doubled a career-high by hitting four of CSC's eight aces.
Loosvelt also led the Eagles in digs for the second straight match, with 17, the second-highest total of her career after setting a career high with 22 against Regis on Tuesday.
Avery Lacy (13 digs) and
Cydnie Eskew (11) also finished in double digits, with Eskew setting a career-high.
Chadron State struggled offensively in the first set, hitting just .071 as the Mavericks took the opener 25-17, but the Eagles followed with a .424 second-set hitting performance, hitting 15 kills against just one error to take set two, 25-20.
The Eagles never trailed in set three to take a two sets to one advantage. Chadron State jumped out to a 4-0 lead, featuring two of Loosvelt's four aces, then used a 5-0 run comprised of a CMU service error, Beckler/Meservey combo block, kills by Meservey and Kirkwood plus a
Jillian Donovan ace to stake a 15-8 lead.
Donovan added another ace later in the set as CSC closed out the frame 25-23, despite the Mavericks saving two set points.
The script flipped in the fourth, as CMU took an early 8-4 lead before a 5-0 Chadron State run punctuated by a Kirkwood/Strode block tied the score at 16-16. The teams traded points for a while before Colorado Mesa found a 5-1 run to go up 23-19, eventually winning the set, 25-21.
The fifth set was an instant classic, with no less than 10 ties and four lead changes despite the two teams only playing to 15. Despite three
Mataya Ward kills and three CSC blocks in the set, the Mavericks won three of the final four points to take the fifth, 15-13.
Colorado Mesa hit .233 in the win, while Chadron State hit .195. The Mavericks had more kills (67-57) and digs (79-72) to make up for CSC's blocking advantage.
Chadron State has not defeated Colorado Mesa since 1995. Friday night was the first time that Chadron State took a set (or two) off the Mavericks in six matches, since the 2021 season.
The Eagles play their final home match and second-to-last overall match of the season against Westminster on Saturday night at 6 p.m. The game against the Griffins will be part of a homecoming doubleheader, following the 1 p.m. football game, and will also feature a post-match Senior Night ceremony honoring eight Eagles whose home career will be concluding.
