CHADRON, Neb. – Colorado State University Pueblo Volleyball completed a perfect opening weekend of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play Saturday night, battling past Chadron State College in five sets (22-25, 25-19, 22-25, 25-14, 15-8) inside the Chicoine Center.
With the victory, the ThunderWolves improve to 5-6 overall and 2-0 in RMAC play, while Chadron State falls to 5-5 overall and 0-2 in league action.
Senior Finja Schul led the way offensively for the Pack, finishing with a match-high 16 kills while hitting an impressive .429. Schul also added two service aces, eight digs, two solo blocks and two block assists. Lilly Zwart followed with 14 kills and four block assists, while Emma Luce and Andi Nothdurft each finished with 11 kills. Nothdurft was especially efficient, hitting .400 on 20 swings while adding six block assists.
Defensively, Chinaru Pao anchored the ThunderWolves with a match-high 27 digs and added two service aces. Kendall Schmitz turned in a double-double with 28 assists and 17 digs, while Madison Gardner added 24 assists and seven digs.
The Pack finished the night with 63 kills on a .212 hitting percentage while holding Chadron State to 54 kills and a .169 clip. CSU Pueblo also held an 85-71 advantage in digs and a 7-4 edge in service aces.
CSU Pueblo came out strong in the opening set and built a 16-11 advantage before Chadron State answered with a run of its own. The Eagles eventually pulled even at 17-17 before moving in front and using four straight points late to build a 24-20 lead. The Pack fought off two set points before Chadron closed out the opener, 25-22.
The Eagles jumped out to a 5-1 advantage in the second set, but the ThunderWolves steadily worked their way back. Nicole Monge helped spark the comeback from the service line, recording two aces during a run that put CSU Pueblo in front 13-11. After Chadron tied the set at 15-15, kills from Schul and Grace Helzer helped the Pack score three straight points and take control. CSU Pueblo closed the set with six of the final eight points to even the match with a 25-19 win.
The ThunderWolves appeared poised to take control in the third after building a 13-8 lead, but Chadron State responded. The Eagles eventually tied the set at 17 before moving ahead 19-17. Schul answered with a service ace to knot the score once again at 19-19, but Chadron State won six of the final nine points to take the third set, 25-22, and move within one set of the match victory.
Facing a must-win fourth set, the Pack delivered their best volleyball of the night. After the teams were tied 5-5, CSU Pueblo scored three straight points and never trailed again. Back-to-back aces from Pao pushed the advantage to 12-7 before the ThunderWolves stretched the lead to 20-12. CSU Pueblo hit .324 in the frame while limiting Chadron State to just seven kills and a .067 hitting percentage en route to a dominant 25-14 victory.
The Pack carried that momentum directly into the deciding fifth set. Schul opened the frame with two kills around a Brianna Pino kill as CSU Pueblo raced out to a 3-0 lead. The ThunderWolves extended the advantage to 6-2 and later used consecutive kills from Luce to help build an 11-4 cushion. Chadron State never got closer than six the rest of the way.
Schul fittingly finished off the match with her fifth kill of the deciding set, giving CSU Pueblo the 15-8 victory. The senior was a perfect 5-for-5 offensively in the fifth, while the ThunderWolves hit .381 as a team and sided out on all eight Chadron State serves.
The victory gives the ThunderWolves back-to-back wins and a 2-0 start to conference play.
