CHADRON, Neb. – After competing in 10 hard-fought sets during the first weekend of RMAC play, Chadron State volleyball will hit the road still in search of its first conference win of 2026.
The Eagles (5-5, 0-2 RMAC) will be in Durango to face Fort Lewis (5-5, 0-2 RMAC) at 6 p.m. on Friday before trekking northeast to Gunnison to battle Western Colorado (5-5, 1-1 RMAC) at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Numbers to Know
- 1,302: Approximate road miles this week from Chadron, Durango, Gunnison and back to Chadron
- 7: Consecutive losses in five-set matches for CSC volleyball
- 16.84: Digs per set by the Eagles as a team, most in the RMAC
- 1.24: Blocks per set by Sarah Meservey, ranking second in the RMAC
How to Tune In
For the second straight year, the RMAC Network is under a pay-per-view model, with single-game, monthly and annual subscription options to watch all of Chadron State's home games and away conference games.
PURCHASE: RMAC NETWORK
Fans can purchase monthly subscriptions to the RMAC Network for $25 or annual passes for $130. Those prices are both unchanged from the 2025-26 season.
All remaining Chadron State regular season volleyball games, both home and away, will be on the network.
Fans can also follow along via live stats and on social media (@cscvolleyball on X/Twitter, csc.volleyball on Instagram).
Looking Back
Facing one problem two seasons removed from playing for the RMAC Tournament championship and another program one season removed from finishing third in the league standings, Chadron State went the distance twice in its home-opening weekend but ultimately fell in five sets to Colorado Christian and CSU Pueblo.
RECAPS: Friday (CCU) | Saturday (CSUP)
Chadron State won the first and third sets in both matches before losing the fourth and fifth sets to both opponents. Three Eagle attackers tallied double-digit kills in both matches – Gibson Beckler (20 kills vs. CCU, 12 vs. CSUP), Mataya Ward (16 and 13) and Kally Kirkwood (12 and 14).
Chadron State was the only institution to have both matches go to five sets during the opening weekend of RMAC play.
The Eagles were picked 15th in the RMAC's Preseason Coaches Poll and went the distance with clubs picked fifth (CSU Pueblo) and sixth (Colorado Christian).
5-for-5
Under a new eligibility ruling passed by the NCAA this summer, all NCAA student-athletes will have five years of eligibility while developmental redshirts and medical waivers that previously could grant another year of eligibility have been eliminated.
To accommodate this new system, Chadron State is changing how student-athletes are labeled on its sport rosters – using the term "freshman" for a player in their first year of college, "sophomore" for a player in their second, "junior," "senior," and "fifth-year," regardless of whether the player has previously received a redshirt year.
For example, a player now being referred to as a "junior" has been with Chadron State or another college volleyball program for two seasons (regardless of if they played or not during those seasons) and has three years of eligibility remaining, including 2026.
Meservey in the Middle
Sarah Meservey, a Utah native who has transferred to CSC from Central Wyoming College, is emerging as one of the top blocking talents in Division II.
Meservey has either set or tied a CSC season-high in total blocks in each of her past three matches. The junior tallied six total blocks – including two solo blocks – on September 5 against Sioux Falls, then equaled those totals against Colorado Christian. Against CSU Pueblo, Meservey recorded seven total blocks, with one solo.
The seven total blocks are just outside the top 10 in single-match performances in the RMAC this season, but Meservey's hallmark has been her consistency, with four blocks or more in 7 of CSC's 10 matches.
Meservey is averaging 1.24 blocks per set, which ranks second in the RMAC and 19th in all of Division II.
Early Impact
Beyond Chadron State's "big three" in attack of Ward, Beckler and Kirkwood, the player with the fourth-most kills and attempts on the roster is a true freshman – Loveland, Colorado's Kiera Schra.
Schra has accumulated 40 kills while hitting .167 on 126 attempts. She also ranks fourth on the team with 15 blocks. Last time out against CSU Pueblo, Schra tied a career-high with six kills (now done three times) and set new career marks for attack attempts (23) and blocks (three).
Among the eight Chadron State players to appear in all 10 matches so far this season, Schra is the only freshman. Out of CSC's three freshmen on the roster, only Schra has played five or more matches.
Stat Standouts
- Avery Lacy ranks tied for second in the RMAC with her 17 total aces. Lacy is tied for fourth in the conference in aces per set (0.46).
- Lacy also ranks sixth in the league in digs per set (4.41) and 163 total digs.
- Sarah Meservey ranks second in the RMAC (and 19th in Division II) with 1.24 blocks per set. Her 46 total blocks are tied for fourth in the league (also 19th in Division II) while her nine solo blocks are tied for fourth.
- Jillian Donovan ranks fourth in the conference in assists per set (6.42) and total assists (231).
- Mataya Ward and Gibson Beckler rank 12th and 13th, respectively, in kills per set.
In the Polls
Chadron State was picked 15th in the RMAC Preseason Coaches Poll. The poll is voted on by the league's head coaches, who each rank the other 14 programs without voting for their own team.
UCCS finished atop the poll with 187 points and eight first-place votes after capturing a share of the RMAC regular season championship a year ago, the first such title in program history. Colorado Mesa (169 points, one first-place vote) came second in the poll and had the most second-place votes (five) of any school.
Opinion is split on MSU Denver. The Roadrunners have won the past five RMAC titles and are the defending Division II national champions, but will have a new coach and mostly new roster because of that team's success. That uncertainty meant MSU Denver received four first place votes, second-most in the league, but only ended up tied for third in the poll, receiving 165 points alongside Colorado School of Mines.
CSU Pueblo is in fifth, while Colorado Christian, Fort Lewis, South Dakota Mines, Westminster and Regis round out the top 10. Adams State, New Mexico Highlands, Western Colorado and Black Hills State rounded out the poll, finishing just ahead of CSC's 38 points.
MSU Denver is the only RMAC program ranked in the AVCA Coaches Poll at No. 18. Colorado Mesa and UCCS are each receiving votes in the poll.
Scouting the Skyhawks
Fort Lewis is 5-5 overall with an 0-2 RMAC record. The Skyhawks began the year 1-3, including a loss to then-No. 21 Angelo State, then had a stellar 4-0 weekend with wins over Minnesota Duluth (3-1), Adelphi (3-0), Florida Tech (3-1) and CSU Pueblo (3-1) in nonconference action.
That momentum took a hit, however, during the first week of RMAC play. The Skyhawks embarked on a lengthy road trip to South Dakota and fell in five sets to Black Hills State before being swept by South Dakota Mines. Friday's match hosting CSC will be Fort Lewis's home opener.
Senior outside hitter Alina Nunez and sophomore defensive specialist Alyx Daugherty each collected RMAC Player of the Week honors during the week of September 7, when FLC went 4-0 in nonconference action. Daugherty leads the league in digs per set with 4.81 and also is tied for fourth with 16 aces.
Nunez leads the Skyhawks at 111 kills and is sixth in the league at 3.08 kills/set. Offensively, behind Nunez, senior Jordan DeJesus has 94 kills while Caroline Munson has 62.
Justin Wong enters his second season as volleyball coach at Fort Lewis. In year one for Wong, the Skyhawks went 14-12 overall and 8-6 in the RMAC, earning a winning season for the first time since 2010 and making the RMAC tournament for the first time since 2023. Wong was previously an assistant coach at George Washington University.
Scouting the Mountaineers
Western Colorado, which went 1-25 last season and did not win an RMAC match, is already 5-5 in 2026 and got off to a 1-1 start in conference play.
The Mountaineers went 4-0 at a home classic, defeating Southwestern Oklahoma State, New Mexico Highlands, Sul Ross State and Lubbock Christian. Although they went 0-4 in Hawaii the following week and lost in four sets to South Dakota Mines in the RMAC opener, the Mountaineers swept Black Hills State last Saturday for WCU's first conference win since November 2024.
Western Colorado ranks second in the RMAC in team digs per set (15.29) and is third in opposing hitting percentage (.167). Individually, Galatia Andrew ranks third in the conference in digs per set (4.62).
Andrea Torres (94 kills), Sierra Long (77) and Maggie Legg (75) lead the Mountaineer attack. Long also ranks ninth in the RMAC with a .302 hitting percentage.
Sonia Morales-Jones is in her second season at WCU after nine seasons at Benedictine University Mesa (Arizona), where she compiled a 166-88 record and qualified for the NAIA national tournament in 2020, 2022 and 2023.
The Eagles swept Western Colorado last season for CSC's only conference match win of 2025.
Coach's Corner
Head Coach Jennifer Stadler will begin her eight season in charge of the Chadron State volleyball program in 2025, accumulating a 56-115 record in her first seven seasons.
Prior to CSC, Stadler coached for eight seasons at Sheridan College in Wyoming, racking up three straight 20-win seasons from 2012-2014. She was a player, assistant coach and interim head coach at current RMAC foe Black Hills State, back when the Yellow Jackets competed in the Dakota Athletic Conference.
In her first year at CSC in 2019, Stadler immediately led the Eagles to a winning record of 14-12 and coached the RMAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year in Ashton Burditt. The Eagles had a banner year in 2023, finishing 15-12 for the program's highest win total since 2003. Chadron also had an 8-6 conference mark in 2023, finishing sixth in the league and qualifying for the RMAC Tournament for the first time in 20 years.
