Eagle Classic set for this weekend

The Eagles’ volleyball team is set to open their season this Friday as they host four schools for the Best Western West Hills Inn Classic at the Chicoine Center.  

South Dakota Mines, Montana State University-Billings, University of Sioux Falls and Fort Hays State University will join the Eagles for matches over the course of Friday and Saturday. The event will begin at 9 a.m. Friday with Mines facing MSU. 

Each day Chadron state will play at both 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Friday they’ll face Mines in their early game and Fort Hayes in the evening. Saturday it will be USF at 2 p.m. and MSU at 7 p.m.

According to Con Marshall of CSC Sports Information, Friday marks the first time the volleyball team has begun their season at home since 1993. 

Chadron is ranked 13th in the RMAC and was 8-19 last season. They begin this season under new head coach Jennifer Stadler who comes to CSC after eight seasons as head coach at Sheridan College in Wyoming. 

According to CSC Sports Information Stadler had three consecutive 20 win seasons from 2012 to 2014 at Sheridan and made the 2017 Region IX North title match in 2017. 

Gone from this year’s roster is setter Madison Webb who graduated after last season. 

This year’s Eagle seniors include Shelby Schouten, of Alton, Iowa, Ashton Burditt, of Spearfish, Kelly Murphy of Evergreen, Colorado, and Timmi Keisel of Fleming, Colorado. 

Burditt, the team’s libero, and Keisel were named as RMAC Pre-Season Players to Watch. 

Joining Schouten, Burditt and Keisel are fellow returning starters Aracely Hernandez, sophomore of Greeley, Colorado,  Karli Noble, junior of Cheyenne, Wyoming,  and Chandler Hageman, sophomore of Chadron. 

Speaking to CSC Sports Information, Stadler said Murphy, along with freshmen Rylee Greiman, of Windsor, Colorado, and Kassidy Nelson, of Mountain View, Wyoming, have challenged for the chance to start this season as outside hitters.