Volleyball team looks at heart rather than record
Chadron State’s volleyball team played double games in Denver this weekend. On Friday, they squared off against Colorado School of Mines and came up short when the number 16 team swept them 25-14, 25-18, 25-16. Colorado Mines won in three sets against the Eagles when they played them in Chadron on September 29.
Hitting errors led to the victory for the Orediggers. Chadron had 17 hitting errors and six service errors in the match, with a .086 hitting percentage. Mines hitting percentage was .260 for all three sets, led by Melanie Wannamaker, junior middle hitter, had 14 kills and a .619 hitting percentage herself. Teammate Jackie Stabell added 10 more kills, and three other players had eight each.
Erika Roybal, sophomore outside hitter of Denver, led the Eagles with nine kills and a .292 hitting percentage. Mallory Irvine, junior middle hitter of Ravenna, matched her five kills with five blocks to assist Roybal. Justine Ackie, freshman setter of Phoenix, Ariz., had a team-high 10 digs and 11 assists.
On Saturday, the Eagles suited up against Colorado Christian University, seated in third place in the East RMAC division. CCU won in four sets on the Eagles’ home court back on September 28. This Saturday the story was much the same when the Cougars defeated the Eagles in three sets, 25-19, 25-15, 25-23.
Action started out slow for Chadron in the first two sets when CCU led all but two times. Taylor Sturms, freshman outside hitter for the Cougars, led with 13 kills, bringing the hitting percentage to .205.
For Chadron, junior middle hitter of Cheyenne, Wyo., Jessica Jester led with seven kills and Irvine contributed six more. Kelcey Christian, sophomore right side hitter of Fountain Colo., added five, as did senior middle hitter of Rushville Lexi Hoagland. Christian also led in blocks with three.
The third set went back and forth as there were 13 ties and five lead changes. However, CCU’s Kaylee Pierce responded with two quick kills to seal the deal.
On Tuesday, Chadron State hosted the Black Hills Yellow Jackets in an RMAC competition. The Yellow Jackets started out slow, but picked up the pace to gain a victory over the Eagles 21-25, 25-20, 25-16, 25-23. Chadron is now 4-21 overall and 2-14 in the RMAC. Such a record can be discouraging, but the volleyball team looks at other areas of improvement.
“Although we had much higher hopes for this year, we have made huge improvements aside from the win, loss column,” interim Head Coach Janel Baily said. “Our main focus all season has been to continue improving on our individual skills and compete well as a team.”
Black Hills, now 10-16 overall and 4-12 in the conference, had two key players throughout the night. Caitlin Templeton and Amy O’Neill combined to have 27 kills. Templeton also contributed five blocks while O’Neill had eight digs.
Templeton and O’Neill, along with their teammates, helped their team end the game with a .123 hitting percentage, while stymieing the Eagles to a .098 hitting percentage.
The top hitters for the Eagles were Jessica Jester, who had a total of 11 kills and Lexi Hoagland had 10 more. Other contributers were Kelcey Christian who had nine, and both Erika Roybal and Mallory Irvine had seven.
Black Hills setter Darbi Yost had a match-high 33 assists and 23 digs to help out the Yellow Jackets defense. On defense for the Eagles, Kristina Harter, senior libero of Colorado Springs, Colo., led in digs with 22. Teammate Ashley Bargen, senior defensive specialist of Chadron, also had 11 digs. Justine Ackie led in assists with 24 while Alyssa Bauer, sophomore setter of Rapid City, S.D., added 17 more.
“I’m proud of these girls and the courage they display; staying motivated and working hard day in and day out,” Baily said.
The Eagles will host University of Colorado-Colorado Springs on Friday. The game is set to start at 5.p.m. in Armstrong Gym.
“UCCS is a tough team with a few great athletes. Overall, I feel we are in better shape and will be looking to outlast them, especially in long rallies.”