SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Chadron State volleyball earned two massive wins to end the Augustana/Sioux Falls classic on a three-match win streak, defeating UMary in straight sets (25-20, 25-19, 25-23) before toppling co-hosts Sioux Falls in four (25-14, 25-23, 19-25, 25-19).
The 2-0 day puts Chadron State ensured a winning 3-1 weekend at the classic for CSC, which is 5-3 overall and has already matched its win total from the 2025 season.
UMary shrunk its record to 2-6 while Sioux Falls fell to 4-4 after going 1-3 at their home event. The Cougars lost in five sets to Emporia State, a team receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll, and swept Black Hills State before taking a set off No. 6-ranked Washburn in a four-set loss the night before losing by the same margin to the Eagles.
The Eagles got it done at the service line offensively and at the net defensively, combining for 15 aces and 17 blocks across their two Saturday wins, including nine and 10 (respectively) against USF. The Eagles currently rank third in the RMAC this season with 2.26 blocks/set.
The Eagles got off to a winning start with a comfortable win over UMary.
Gibson Beckler led the charge with a season-high 16 kills while
Kally Kirkwood joined her in double digits with 10.
Jillian Donovan led the team in assists (30) and aces (two) while tying for the team lead in blocks (three) and finishing as one of two CSC players with double-digit digs (10).
Chadron State took a 2-1 lead and never looked back in the first set, holding advantages of 6-2 and 18-10 along the way. In the second set, the Eagles trailed 7-4 early, but used a 6-0 run that featured Donovan setting up Beckler,
Rayssa Da Silva and Beckler again for kills on back-to-back points, then saw Beckler and Da Silva team up for a block to make it 10-7, Eagles.
With the teams separated by just a point at 17-16 CSC in the second, Kirkwood went for back-to-back kills before Beckler and Da Silva added on as part of a 5-0 run that gave the Eagles a 22-16 cushion before they won the second set by the same six-point margin, 25-19.
UMary put up a fight in the third set and seemed poised to send it to a fourth as the Marauders led 23-18, but the Eagles roared back with a 7-0 run to end the match. Three Marauder attacking errors helped Chadron State, but the Eagles also received kills from Da Silva, Donovan and Beckler plus a
Brandi Helzer ace over the course of the run.
Chadron State hit .181 for the match against UMary while the Marauders hit just .091 over three sets. UMary only hit .024 in the first set. Chadron State had 44 kills to UMary's 33, providing an advantage even though the Marauders finished with one more dig (60-59) and two more blocks (9-7) than CSC.
Against Sioux Falls, the aces and attack swung the match in Chadron State's favor. Sioux Falls finished with more kills (49-45) and more digs (64-61) and edged out CSC in blocks despite the Eagles tying a single-match high from this season (11-10).
However, the Cougars made 32 attack errors in hitting just .112 for the match after not hitting under .200 in any previous outing this season. Chadron State also dominated the service line, finishing with nine aces while USF managed one.
Beckler again led the Eagles with 12 kills, giving the senior her top two outputs from the season so far on the same day. Kirkwood finished with 11 kills.
Mataya Ward had a quieter hitting night, with eight kills and a -.125 hitting percentage, but finished with four aces, the first match in her career with more than two.
Avery Lacy added two while
Naomi Starr, Beckler and Donovan all had one.
Sarah Meservey, a junior transfer, earned a new CSC career-high with six total blocks against Sioux Falls, including two solo blocks. Meservey is up to 33 blocks on the season, which would already rank in the top five of CSC's 2025 season totals, and the Utah native is second in the RMAC in blocks per set at 1.22.
The Eagles jumped all over the Cougars in USF's home arena in set one. Lacy went back-to-back aces again on the service line to jumpstart an 8-0 scoring run that gave CSC a 10-4 advantage. Chadron State closed on an 8-2 run to win set one 25-14, CSC's largest margin of victory in a set so far this year, as the Eagles hit .385 in the opening frame while Sioux Falls hit .027.
Despite being outhit .121-.021 in the second, Chadron State still won the set on the back of four aces, three blocks and 12 kills. The Eagles committed 11 attack errors in the second set alone but had only 12 in the other three sets combined. USF mounted a late rally and got within a point, but a
Brandi Helzer/
Mataya Ward combo block halted a 4-0 USF run and Ward closed the set with an ace.
After the Cougars took the third set, the Eagles got back to business with four kills and an ace to take a 5-2 lead. CSC then earned three points on blocks in a five-point stretch to open up a 9-5 lead, while four different Eagles earned a kill to turn a 9-7 lead into a 13-9 cushion.
Sioux Falls ended the match of a string of misses, with USF attack and service errors giving the Eagles five of their final six points.
The Eagles will play at home for the first time this upcoming weekend, hosting Colorado Christian on Friday and CSU Pueblo on Saturday, both at 6 p.m. in the Chicoine Center for what will also be the first two RMAC conference games on the calendar.
