CHADRON, Neb. – The Colorado State University Pueblo volleyball team won its second straight match here Thursday evening as the ThunderWolves hit .331 as a team en route to earning a four-set victory (25-22, 25-13, 22-25, 25-21) over Chadron State in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action at the Chicoine Center on the CSC campus.
With the victory, the Pack improves to 7-10 overall and 5-2 in the RMAC, while Chadron State falls to 10-7 overall and 5-3 in the league. The win was also the first for the Pack that went more than three sets as the Pack entered the match having all six of their previous wins coming in straight sets. The Pack were 0-5 in four set matches this season before Thursday's win.
"I'm extremely proud of our team for going out and getting this one on the road. Chadron has a talented group and we knew we were going to find ourselves in an offensive shootout tonight. Our setters did a fantastic job of executing our game plan and keeping our offensive clip high throughout the match," CSU Pueblo head coach
Austin Albers said. "We challenged them this week and they stepped up tonight."
The Pack's win was aided by three players recording double-digit kills as redshirt sophomore outside hitter
Payton Van Veen (Springfield, Mo./Washburn University) paced the Pack with 16 kills, five blocks and hit .343. In addition to Van Veen, sophomore outside hitter
Sadie Scoville (Pleasant Grove, Utah/Pleasant Grove) tallied 14 kills, 15 digs and hit .412, while sophomore opposite side hitter
Kendall Harrington (San Antonio, Texas/Tom C. Clark) added 13 kills, two blocks and hit .393.
Defensively, the Pack recorded 10 blocks and 68 digs as along with Scoville's 15 digs, freshman libero
Maddox Richtmyre (Surprise, Ariz./Willow Canyon) added 15 digs and two aces.
Junior setter
Sabrina King (Parker, Colo./Lutheran) finished with a career-high 28 assists and added eight digs, while senior setter
Grace Jansen (Sandy, Utah/Jordan) had a career-high 26 assists, six digs and two aces.
"Our hitters did a great job of being terminal and we were just good enough defensively to slow down their attack in key moments. But the way in which we prepared this week to go on the road and find a way to grit out a win against a strong opponent is a level of professionalism that I just love to see from this group. We're growing and we need to keep our foot on the gas in that capacity. Now we turn our attention to Saturday. The trip isn't over and the jobs not done," added Albers.
CSC was led by 12 kills and a .500 attack percentage by Bella Adams, while Mayson Fago added 11 kills. Kendyl Kirkwood had 34 assists and 13 digs, while Alondra Hernandez added 13 digs and two aces in the loss.
The Pack held the Eagles to a .205 attack percentage. Both teams recorded seven aces in the match.
Set 1: Chadron State jumped out to a 13-10 lead in the opening set, before the Pack used a 4-1 run to tie the set at 14-all. CSC responded with a 3-0 run to take a 17-14 lead, before the Pack used a 6-1 run capped by a Scoville kills to take a 20-18 lead. After CSC scored two of the next three points to pull within 21-20, the Pack closed the set on a 4-2 run to post a 25-22 set win. In the set, the Pack hit .333 and had 19 kills, while CSC had 14 kills and hit .278.
Set 2: The Pack turned an 8-7 lead into an 18-7 lead that was capped by an ace from Van Veen and kill by freshman outside hitter
Ceanna O'Loughlin (Beaverton, Ore./Jesuit). CSC, though, responded with a 3-0 run to pull within 18-10. That would be as close as the Eagles would get as the Pack scored seven of the final 10 points of the set to seal its 25-13 win and take a 2-0 lead in the match. In the set, the Pack hit .400 and held CSC to an .056 attack percentage.
Set 3: In the third set, CSC jumped out to a 9-6 lead that was capped by four kills from Adams. The Pack responded with an 11-8 run keyed by three kills from Harrington to tie the set at 17-all. The Eagles would then score two straight points to retake the lead at 19-17, the Pack answered with a 5-2 run to take a 22-21 lead. CSC would close the set on a 4-0 run to earn a 25-22 win to force a fourth set. The Pack hit .293 with 14 kills in the set, while CSC hit .239 with 16 kills.
Set 4: The Pack jumped out to a 17-9 lead in the fourth set, before CSC responded with a 6-2 run to drop the Pack's lead to 19-15. The Pack, though, would close out the set by scoring six of the final 12 points, including sealing the 25-21 set win with a kill by Scoville. In the set, the Pack hit .314 with 15 kills, while CSC hit .242 with 11 kills.
Up Next: The Pack will conclude its two-match weekend road swing with a 5 p.m. match on Saturday, Oct. 14 in Lakewood, Colo., against Colorado Christian University.
