Volleyball team earns first win of the season

The Chadron State College volleyball team made its way to Billings, Montana, last weekend to participate in a preseason tournament hosted by Montana State University—Billings that would get the Eagles’ season underway.

On Friday, the Eagles came up short in both match-ups, suffering a four-set loss to Minot State University in the first game and a three-set loss to host Montana State University—Billings in the second.

Outside hitter Erica Roybal, senior of Denver, and middle hitter Lelalelei Nomura, transfer junior of Pago Pago, American Somoa, led the Eagles with 17 kills apiece for the day. Ashlyn Hanson, freshman of Seward, added 12 kills and 19 digs of her own in the two games.

After taking the short end of a 10-25 opening set against Minot State, the Eagles bounced back with a win in the second set behind 31 match assists by setter Justine Ackie, junior of Phoenix. She would add 11 more against MSUB. Brittany Oddo, senior of Peoria, Arizona, led the team with 26 digs on the day.

Chadron fought hard to keep things interesting in the final two sets against Minot State, losing each one by just three points. Against Billings, the Eagles lost by scores of 15-20, 23-25, and 20-25.

The final day of the tournament began early for the Eagles, as they took on University of Mary at 9 a.m. They closed the tournament at 2 p.m. against conference rival Black Hills State University. This was not a conference match-up.

In their encounter with the University of Mary, Chadron got its first win of the season, performing a three-set sweep to end the game as quickly as possible. Against Black Hills, the Eagles luck ran out, losing to the Yellow Jackets in four sets.

Roybal and Nomura led the way again with 24 kills and three blocks each for the day. Setter Mariah Conyers, sophomore of Bellwood, distributed well for the Eagles, tallying a combined 72 assists for both games. Oddo finished with 31 digs, while Hanson added another 12 kills and 24 digs.

The Eagles made things look easy against the University of Mary, never receiving much threat from the opposition. Nomura led the way with 12 kills, and Conyers pitched in 23 match assists.

Although the Eagles lost to Black Hills in the final game of the tournament, the girls remained positive about the weekend and the remainder of the season.

“I thought we did some good things and learned a lot about what we need to work on,” Jamie McLain, junior of Chadron, said. “I think this program is going uphill, and Coach Wells has a lot to offer.”

McLain also voiced that the team expects to reach the conference tournament this year.

Setter and defensive specialist Alyssa Bauer, senior of Rapid City, South Dakota, also had some input.

“We could have planned better, but it was our first weekend,” she said. “I have high expectations for this season. We have a lot of new faces, and some old, and we are figuring out how to work with one another.”

Bauer also gave praise to their new coach, Chris Wells, insisting that he is going to be responsible for much success in the Chadron State volleyball program.