Eagle volleyball looks to bounce back after ranked road competition

Photo courtesy of Noelle Meagher

By Eben Rosentrater – Editor-in-Chief

The CSC volleyball team will fight to stay above .500 on the season this weekend against Western Colorado, of Gunnison, and Fort Lewis, of Durango, Colorado, after two tough matches against NCAA Division II top ten teams.

The embattled Eagles despite winning in five sets against Colorado School of Mines, of Golden, on Friday had a tough two games to follow after taking on MSU Denver and Wayne State College.

The Eagles’ game against the Roadrunners of MSU Denver looked hopeful with high scoring affairs in the first and second sets. CSC scored 20 in the first and were able to take the NCAA ninth-ranked Roadrunners to extra serves in the second. The Eagles won the second 27-25.

Unfortunately, the Eagles’ fire was quickly extinguished. The Roadrunners jumped out to quick lead in the third and won handedly 25-16. The Eagles’ struggles continued further in the fourth, allowing MSU to take the match with a 25-14 set win.

The Eagles next match on Tuesday was even more difficult, taking on the NCAA Division II first-ranked Wildcats of Wayne State. CSC never reached above 20 points in any of the three sets played, ending the night with their second lowest hitting percentage of the season of .104.

Despite that, the Eagles’ upcoming weekend looks promising. Eagle volleyball fans will recall last year’s battle with the Western Colorado Mountaineers as CSC’s best performance of that season, the only game in which the Eagles swept their opponent in that year.

Friday seems to hold a similar match-up for the Eagles as the Mountaineers have struggled in recent weeks, ranking 14th in the RMAC, just ahead of the last place Cowgirls of New Mexico Highlands.

However, the Eagles’ match with the Skyhawks of Fort Lewis on Saturday may prove to be a more difficult affair but not one the Eagles can’t handle.

Chadron State currently sits seventh in the RMAC. Fort Lewis sits eighth, so a close match would not be a surprising sight.

However, the Eagles, sitting at 5-5 on the season, are eager to be two games above .500, a position which they have struggled to stay at in previous years.

The Eagles will take the court again when they take on the Western Colorado Mountaineers, at 6 p.m., on Friday, in the Chicoine Center.