CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State volleyball jumped out to a two-sets-to-none lead, but couldn't hold it, losing to a comeback effort from the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs in a five-set match at the Chicoine Center, as the Mountain Lions prevailed over the Eagles 20-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-22, 15-9.

The loss drops the Eagles to 4-11 overall and 0-5 in RMAC play. It also snaps a two-game win streak for Chadron State after two nonconference wins last week over South Dakota Mines and Black Hills State.

Freshman Mataya Ward of Belle Fourche, South Dakota, finished with a career-high and team-high 12 kills in the losing effort. Aiyana Fujiyama also had double-digit kills, with 10, and hit .400 for the match. Alondra Hernandez tied a season-high with 32 digs.

The Eagles hit .161 as a team, with 55 kills and 25 attack errors. UCCS hit .207, with 62 kills and 22 attack errors. Both teams had nine service aces apiece while the Mountain Lions finished with nine total blocks compared to Chadron State's six.

Chadron State started strong, with four of the six blocks for the match coming in the first set. CSC got out to leads of 3-0, 7-2 and 11-4, with a Kendyl Kirkwood kill opening up the seven-point advantage. Two kills from Bella Adams and a kill from Ward in a four-point span made it 22-16 Eagles, before a UCCS service error closed out the set, 25-21.

UCCS opened the second set with an ace, but Chadron State used a 4-0 scoring run to take a 5-2 lead, punctuated by a combo block from Adams and Natali Keni. Trailing 19-16, the Eagles roared back with a kill from Alejandra Briseno followed by a Briseno ace.

After a UCCS point, the Eagles got a Kendyl Kirkwood set to Kally Kirkwood kill followed by a Mountain Lions ball handling error to tie the score 20-20. At 21-21, Chadron State took the set by winning each of the final four points courtesy of UCCS attack errors, including a block by Ward and Fujiyama.

In set three, UCCS jumped out to an early lead, and while Chadron State battled back to tie the score on four occasions, the Eagles never led in the set. Chadron State saved three set points to turn a 24-18 deficit into a 24-21 deficit, including a crazy rally where Hernandez made a dig with the top of her head on the way to CSC winning the point, but the Mountain Lions responded with a kill out of a timeout to take the third.

Offenses ruled the fourth set, as UCCS hit .366 while the Eagles hit .275. Chadron State had a 22-20 lead and were three points away from a match win, but UCCS went on a 5-0 run to steal the set, notching back-to-back aces to seal it.

In the decisive fifth set, the Eagles unfortunately could not get out of their own way, recording five kills compared to six attack errors for a -.038 hitting percentage in the set. Chadron State briefly led 2-0, but UCCS had two separate 4-0 runs to take a 9-5 lead and earned their final six points of the match on two CSC service errors and four attack errors.

Chadron State will hit the court again Saturday night at the Chicoine Center against Regis University, the defending RMAC Tournament champions. The Rangers (8-7, 4-1 RMAC) defeated Colorado Christian in four sets Friday night. First serve is set for 6 p.m.

Eagles 10th At Colorado Springs XC Open

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Juniors Blaine Johnson and Lydia Peters were Chadron State's top finishers as both the men's and women's cross country programs finished 10^th at the Colorado Springs XC Open, hosted by UCCS at Monument Valley Park. 

The men's team finished with a team score of 251. Chadron State's six competing athletes ran 8K races in a total cumulative time of 2:21:19 and an average time of 28:15.

Junior Blaine Johnson of Sheridan, Wyoming was CSC's top male finisher in 47^th, earning 35 points. Johnson ran the 8K race in 26:51.1. Senior Kyle Shirley followed in 58^th with a time of 27:13.9 for 43 points. 

The rest of Chadron State's scoring five were sophomore Wyatt Bly (27:58.6, 85^th, 54 points), junior Miles Mitchell (29:33.8, 107^th, 59 points) and sophomore Adam Beard (29:41.9, 110^th, 60 points). 

Two Chadron State men ran season-best 8K times – Johnson, who best his previous best by 14 seconds, and Beard, who ran over a minute and a half faster than he had so far in 2024. 

CSU Pueblo finished atop the men's team standings. RMAC teams finished first, third (Western Colorado), fourth (Adams State), sixth (UCCS), seventh (Colorado Christian) and 10th (CSC) in the race. 

The women's team also finished with a team score of 251. The Eagles had seven runners compete in the 6K, finishing with a total time of 2:04.12 and an average time of 24:50.

Junior Lydia Peters of Sidney, Nebraska was CSC's fastest runner on the day, finishing in 44^th place and earning 36 points with a time of 23:55.1. Senior Alissa Wieman was next in 54^th place, earning 43 points with a time of 24:19.3 in her first 6K of the season. 

Sophomore Samantha Rodewald finished 66^th and ran a 24:54.0, earning 53 points three weeks after leading the Eagle women's team at the MSU Denver Invitational. Freshman and Chadron native Kyndall Carnahan ran a 25:20.7 and earned 58 points while sophomore Katelyn Beshara was 23 seconds behind in 25:43.2, earning 61 points.

Colorado State University won the meet on the women's side. RMAC schools placed second (CSU Pueblo), third (Fort Lewis), fourth (Western Colorado), fifth (UCCS), ninth (Colorado Christian) and 10th (CSC). 

The Eagles will now have two weeks to prepare for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Cross Country championships, which will be held on the Gene Torres Golf Course in Las Vegas, New Mexico on Saturday, October 26. The men's 8K race will begin at 10:45 a.m. while the women's 6K will start at 11:35 a.m.