The Chadron State College volleyball team won in five sets, (25-23, 25-23, 23-25, 22-25, 15-4), against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference rival Fort Lewis on Friday night, September 23 to improve its record to 6-8 overall, and 4-1 in the RMAC.
Sophomore Aiyana Fujiyama was a force at the net once again with 12 total blocks. Junior Lexi Hurtado, and Adams both had 6 blocks included in the 18 total blocks the Eagles defense tallied. The Eagles defense tallied a total of 95 digs led by senior Breshawna Kelly and Fago with 16 each. Greiman added 14 of her own.
The Eagles had a decent .173 hitting percentage with 59 total kills led by junior Rylee Greiman, sophomore Mayson Fago, and freshman Bella Adams with 15, 11, and 11 respectively. Adams had a hitting percentage of .500 by herself.
In the first set, the Eagles jumped out to a 4-0 lead before the Skyhawks went on a 5-0 run to take the lead 5-4. The set went back and forth with each team regaining the advantage. The Eagles gained the edge from a kill by Greiman to take the lead 21-20. The Eagles ended the set on 4-3 run to take the first set.
The second set picked up right where the first set left off, with each team pulling ahead before the other team took the lead back. There were 10 tied scores and seven lead changes. When the set was tied at 23, a block by Fago and Fujiyama propelled the Eagles to take the set with the help of an ace serve from senior Abby Schaefer, and a kill by Fago.
In the third set, the Eagles’ biggest lead was two points, at 11-9, before the Skyhawks went on a 6-1 run sparked by a kill from Javiana Romero. The Eagles fought back to tie the game at 16-16. The Skyhawks would not allow the Eagles to take the lead back by pulling ahead 22-18. A run from the Eagles fell short as a kill from Rylee Johnson averted the sweep for the Skyhawks at 25-23 for the visitors.
The Eagles were playing catch-up most of the fourth set, falling behind 6-3, then rallying to tie the game at six apiece. CSC soon found itself down by five after another Romero kill, but the Eagles fought back to make it close at 22-24. A kill from Lauren Shea gave the Skyhawks the point they needed to force a fifth set.
The fifth set was all Eagles. CSC jumped out to an 11-1 lead before the Skyhawks were able to get another point. Fago led the offense, while Adams, and Hurtado led the defense at the net for the Eagles. The Skyhawks never threatened the Eagles as Chadron State only allowed three more points before an attack error, from JJ Curry, allowed the Eagles to win the match and their fourth straight in the RMAC.
The Eagles will host Western Colorado on Saturday September 24, at 6 p.m. at the Chicoine Center.