Volleyball team’s losing streak continues
The CSC volleyball team hit the road for match-ups against Metro State University-Denver, Oct. 10, and Colorado School of Mines, Oct. 11, suffering losses to both teams.
Friday’s match-up with Metro State ended in three sets with scores of 25-21, 25-13, and 25-15.
The first set was the closest of the three, with CSC playing solid defense throughout as they held the Roadrunners to a .100 hitting percentage. The Eagles also received the help of the Roadrunners, who committed 12 errors in the set. Nonetheless, Metro still came out on top.
Metro State woke up after the first set, pouring on the points quickly from that point on. Four players finished with at least six kills for the Roadrunners.
Metro was not willing to give up much defensively, holding the Eagles to a hitting percentage below .100 and finished with five total team blocks.
Outside Hitter Erika Roybal, senior of Denver, ran the show for the Eagles, finishing with a team-high nine kills. Setter Shelby Gardner, redshirt freshman of Colby, Kansas, did well in distributing the ball, as she finished with 18 assists.
On the defensive side of the net, Outside Hitter Hanna Flaming, senior of Benton, Kansas, and Middle Hitter Alia Brennan, sophomore of Chadron, had three and two blocks, respectively. Defensive Specialist Alyssa Bauer, senior of Rapid City, South Dakota, helped with 11 digs.
The Eagles looked to rebound in Saturday’s match-up against Colorado School of Mines, but fell short again.
Mines swept Chadron State in convincing fashion, winning by scores of 25-16, 25-13, and 25-17.
Despite the loss, the Eagles showed a bit of life early in the final set. They kept things close, tying the score six times and leading twice, but Mines would go on an 8-1 run to close out the match.
Both teams did well in their play behind the net on their way to seven team blocks each. Brennan and Outside Hitter Alexis Farris, freshman of Blair, had four blocks apiece.
The ball was distributed well in this game as well, with six players from each team getting on the board for kills. Gardner dished out 25 for Chadron.
For the Eagles, Brennan had a team-high six kills. Flaming and Farris added five apiece, and Roybal and Outside Hitter Lelalelei Nomura, junior of Pago Pago, American Samoa, each finished with four.
The Eagles volleyball team traveled to Spearfish, South Dakota, Oct. 14 to take on Black Hills State University. The Yellow Jackets cruised to a three set victory with scores of 25-20, 25-19, 25-20. The Eagles had to face a defense that put up 14 blocks during the match. Helped by the performance of Roybal, the Eagles were able to keep each set close. Roybal recorded 12 kills and hit .250. Nomura finished the game with eight kills and five blocks.
Gardner did her part for the team by adding 23 set assists. Spreading the ball around, five teammates had at least four kills. Farris added nine kills for CSC. Flaming helped the Eagles defense with four blocks.
Solid defense helped the Yellow Jackets keep the Eagles to a .120 hitting average. Six Yellow Jacket players recorded at least one block.
CSC failed to soar over Colorado Christian University Friday night, losing in three sets, 25-16, 25-19, and 25-20.
The Eagles played competitively against CCU in the first set. The Eagles won a long rally at a 15-15 tie thanks to one of three blocks from Roybal. CSC errors assisted the Cougar’s first set win 25-16.
The Eagles struggled to pass the Cougars in the second set. CSC errors led to a 12-17 lead by CCU. Roybal’s kills helped the Eagles gain points, only to be brought down by a kill from CCU’s Outside Hitter Kaylee Pierce, junior of Centennial, Colorado, who had 15 kills overall. CCU pulled away to win 25-19.
CCU came out strong in the third set, sending over a tip that rattled the Eagles. The Eagles had a difficult time blocking and receiving a front row assault from CCU, leading to a CCU win, 25-20.
The Eagles maintained a competitive game against CCU, tying the game 24 times. Setter Justine Ackie, junior of Phoenix, Arizona, set up a strong front row with 29 assists and zero errors. Roybal led the team with 11 kills with Brennan right behind with 10. The Eagles finished the game with 36 kills.
Farris and Bauer kept the Eagles in the game with 14 digs each; however, the effort was not enough to return CCU’s 44 overall kills and .268 hitting percentage.
The Eagle’s 23 errors to CCU’s 14 hurt the team significantly.
“We were right there. We were just a few serves away,” Kristina Harter, CSC’s coaching assistant said. “We’re still competing, everybody’s got a great attitude.”
Blacks Hills State University totaled 53 kills to Chadron State’s 51 Tuesday evening in route to a 4-1 victory.
Middle Hitter Holly Hamlin, senior of Palm Desert, California, led Black Hills State with 15 kills with four-set win 26-24, 25-16, 17-25, 25-20. The Eagles record now falls to 3-18 overall and 2-11 in conference play.
The Eagles held a 24-22 lead in the first and led by as much as six points, but could not close out as the Yellow Jackets came back to win 26-24.
“It’s tough losing a set like that especially when we played well up to that point,” Eagles Head Coach Chris Wells said.
Roybal led CSC with 15 kills and Nomura added nine. The Eagles hit .104 as a team, but the Yellow Jackets edged them out hitting .161 as a team.
The Eagles had a balanced defense, Bauer chipped in 24 digs to lead at players and Farris added 15.
The Eagles will travel to Lakewood, Colorado, Saturday to take on Colorado Christian University. They will play South Dakota Mines in Rapid City Tuesday.