Volleyball team grabs 1 win in SD

The Eagles pulled off another win against South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, South Dakota, Friday. The win boosted the RMAC standing to 3-4 and their overall record to 4-12, leaving the Hardrockers with a 1-17 record and a RMAC standing of 0-7. The Eagles were unable to sweep the weekend, losing to Black Hills State University, Spearfish, South Dakota, in three sets Saturday.
While consuming a bit of a rough first half, the Eagles completed a 25-14 blowout win in the third set, followed by a close 25-23 win in fourth set.
Outside hitter Rudy Leasau, senior of LaMesa, California, led a total of 18 kills, followed by 13 kills and three blocks recorded by Gaby Varela, junior of Dorado, Puerto Rico, and nine kills from Alia Brennan, senior of Chadron. Setter Madison Webb, sophomore of Loveland, Colorado, also accomplished a share of 45 assists.
The team generated three 4-kill streaks, two in the third set and one in the fourth set.
On the defensive side, Emily Bruce, junior of Centerton, Arkansas, totaled 23 digs, Leasau created 11 and Varela, eight.
While being down in first set, the Eagles completed a comeback and win the set. The second set was where CSC tried to catch up, but struggles ended up costing the Eagles and tying the game 1-1.
In the third set, when the Hardrockers generated a score, CSC would follow it up with at least two points, making it the only blowout win of the game.
In the fourth set, CSC struggled. The Hardrockers tried various attempts to catch up and led 22-20 for a short time, after creating a 4-kill streak of their own. Nonetheless, CSC finished a comeback and pulled a close victory Mines, ending the game.
Head Coach Riann Mullis said the takeaway of the game was the defense and the serve-receive. She said the advantage for the team was that they had more energy and ready to compete, but she said its hard playing on the road.
Mullis also said that School of Mines had a decent crowd. Mullis said that the team needs to work on the “consistency of execution.”
The volleyball team lost to the Yellow Jackets of Black Hills State University, Spearfish, South Dakota, in three sets Saturday, dropping its record to 4-13 overall and 3-5 in the RMAC.
The Eagles came out strong against the Yellow Jackets in the first set, but ended up losing 30-28. The Yellow Jackets slowed the Eagles down in the second and third sets, winning 25-13 in the second and 25-20 in the third.
“The past weekend didn’t turn out the way we hoped it would,” Webb said. “But we’re excited for the upcoming weekend. We’re ready to work hard and focus on the upcoming opponents. It’s going to be nice playing in front of our home fans before going on the road two weekends in a row.”
Repeating from the night before, Leasau and Varela led the Eagles in kills with 13 and 10 respectively. Kenzie Chrisman, sophomore of Sterling, Colorado, followed close behind with 7.
Webb provided 30 assists for the Eagles, upping her season total to 578.
Defensively, Chrisman led the Eagles at the net with 5 blocks.
Bruce accounted for 20 of the teams 65 digs. Webb and Leasau provided 11 each.
For Black Hills, senior Brynn Eckhardt, of LaSalle, Colorado, led the Yellow Jacket attack with 13 kills and 10 assists. On the defensive side, Lacy Stevens, senior of Edgemont, South Dakota, posted 15 digs. Cheyenne Palu, sophomore of Gillette, Wyoming, led both teams in blocks with 10.
Unlike the last two weeks, the Eagles have Tuesday off, having the whole week to prepare for its home weekend games against the Fort Lewis Skyhawks of Durango, Colorado, Friday, and the Adams State Grizzlies of Alamosa, Colorado, Saturday.
The Skyhawks are 4-12 overall while the Grizzlies post a 9-8 record.
First serve for both games is set for 6 p.m.