DENVER – Chadron State volleyball hung with the defending national champions for much of the match, but MSU Denver's offensive firepower proved too much for CSC as the Roadrunners won in straight sets – 26-24, 25-19, 25-22 – on Friday night in Denver.
The Roadrunners (11-6, 6-1 RMAC) had 18 kills or more in all three sets and finished with 55 kills on the night. That overshadowed what was still a very good offensive showing by Chadron State (7-10, 1-6 RMAC), who had 32 kills against a season-low nine attack errors while hitting .215, CSC's fourth-best hitting percentage this season.
Gibson Beckler and
Mataya Ward tied for the team lead with nine kills each on 29 and 27 attempts, respectively.
Kally Kirkwood chipped in five kills while
Sarah Meservey had four on 10 attempts.
Chadron State more than doubled up the hosts on blocks, recording nine to MSU Denver's four.
Sarah Meservey contributed six total blocks while Beckler tied a season-high with five and Ward added CSC's only solo block.
Libero
Avery Lacy, who surpassed 1,000 career digs last weekend, led the team with 14 digs on Friday night while
Kali Reiners had the second-most digs for the Eagles with seven and also contributed both of CSC's service aces.
Chadron State recorded four of its nine blocks in the first set as both the Eagles and Roadrunners posted match-low hitting percentages in the opening frame. The Roadrunners tried to run away with it early, taking an 11-2 lead, but the Eagles successfully reeled MSU Denver in.
The Eagles used a 7-1 run featuring two Ward kills to get within striking distance, then tied the score at 17-17 by scoring four consecutive points, including two kills by
Sarah Meservey and one from Ward.
A combo block from Meservey and
Jillian Donovan tied it at 22-22, then after the Roadrunners earned two set points by taking a 24-22 lead, the Eagles saved both with an MSUD error and
Kally Kirkwood/Meservey block to tie it at 24. The Roadrunners responded with two kills, however, to take the first set.
Chadron State hit .241 in the second set, but the Roadrunners caught fire, hitting at a .424 clip in set number two. The two teams were point-for-point early, with six ties and two lead changes in the frame, but the Roadrunners pulled ahead for good with a 4-0 scoring run to take a 15-12 lead and eventually won 25-19. MSU Denver's last two second-set points both came on Chadron State service errors.
Chadron State continued to improve offensively, hitting a match-best .256 with 14 kills and three errors in the third set, but the Roadrunners were a touch better, hitting .260 with 19 kills and six errors.
MSU Denver jumped out to a 4-1 lead and made it stick, although Chadron State pulled within a point late. Trailing 21-16, the Eagles used three blocks and back-to-back kills from Meservey and Kirkwood to trim the deficit to only 23-22, but MSU Denver responded with back-to-back kills to ice the match.
The win for MSU Denver is the Roadrunners' 28
th consecutive over the Eagles.
Chadron State returns to the court tomorrow night vs. UCCS (11-6, 6-1 RMAC), which won in four sets over Regis on Friday. First serve is set for 3 p.m.
