By John Murphy CSC Sports Information DirectorÂ
The Chadron State College volleyball team defeated York University in three sets and Minnesota State – Moorhead in four sets, Friday in their season opening tournament in the Chicoine Center.
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In the season opener against York, CSC won set one 25-22 before winning set two 25-18 and set three 25-15.
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The Eagles led 16-10 in set one before the Panthers lowered the score to 21-20. CSC responded with two kills by Lexi Hurtado and one from Mayson Fago, before Fago ended the set with another kill.
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In set two, the two teams were tied at six before the Eagles pulled away.
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Chadron State trailed 14-13 in set three before orchestrating an 11-0 scoring run in route to winning the match.
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As a team, CSC hit .314, with a high of .405 in the second set. York finished the match with a hitting percentage of .194.
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Hurtado, a graduate student from Aurora, Colorado, led both teams with 11 kills. Her hitting percentage of .438 was third for CSC. Aiyana Fujiyama had nine kills with a percentage of .563, while Natali Keni hit .571 with four kills.
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Kendyl Kirkwood, a junior from Fleming, Colorado, led the team with 31 assists. Hurtado and junior Alondra Hernandez each had 11 digs, giving Hurtado a double-double. Hernandez had three services aces to lead both teams.
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Fujiyama, a junior from Wahiawa, Hawaii, recorded the only block in the match for CSC.
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In match number two against the Dragons, CSC fell 25-19 in set two. Their three victories came by scores of 25-14 in set one, 25-23 in set two and 25-19 in set three.
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The Eagles outhit Moorhead .215 to .140 and had six more blocks than their opponent.
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Hurtado once again led the team, recording 16 kills with an attack percentage of .282. Joining her with double-digit kills were Fago, a senior from Evans, Colorado, and Bella Adams, a sophomore from Pueblo, Colorado. Fago had 14 kills and an attack percentage of .303, while Adams hit .138 with 10 kills.
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Kirkwood led both teams in assists, recording 42.
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Defensively, Hernandez led both teams with 20 digs. Joining her in double-digits were Kirkwood with 14, Hurtado with 12 and freshman Avery Lacy with 11. Kirkwood earned her first double-double of the season in the victory while Hurtado recorded her second of the day.
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Fujiyama, Hurtado and Adams each had three block assists and one solo block.
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Jadyn Feist led the opponents with 14 kills and an attack percentage of .227. Â
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The Eagles return to action tomorrow when they play South Dakota Mines at noon in the Chicoine Center. The Hardrockers fell to MSU-Moorhead in five sets before sweeping York.