(CSC 29-27, BH 25-19, BH 25-20, BH 25-22)
CHADRON, Neb. - After losing the first set, the Yellow Jackets (5-5, 1-2 RMAC) ripped off three straight set wins by at least three points to win the match over rival Chadron State (3-8, 0-3 RMAC), 3-1, to give them their first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference win of the young season.
Coming into the match, head coach Sally Nichols, had stressed the importance of closing the opponent out after their recent strong middle sets, and was pleased to see the team's development on Tuesday night from the Armstrong Gymnasium.
"Our gals did a nice job of finishing the match tonight. We continue to put pressure on our opponent from the serving line as our block took away options and allowed our defense to play aggressive," Nichols said.
BHSU's senior hitter Amy O'Neill finished the night with 20 kills to lead the match to go with 15 digs. Fellow senior captain, Caitlin Templeton, who notched 13 kills on only five errors and five blocks, finished with a team-high .267 kill-percentage on the match. CSC's top hitters - Barbie DeCent and Erika Roybal - combined for 20 kills for the Eagles.
Shelby Mayer continues to make strides for the Jackets on the defensive end where she tallied at match-high six blocks. Holly Hamlin and Brynn Eckhardt combined for six more blocks on the night to help hold the Eagles to 19 and 20 points in sets two and three.
The defense clamped down in the fourth and final set when coach Nichols needed them to the most as they held CSC to just a .021 kill-percentage, after going just 10-for-47 on attacks.
Eckhardt had 44 assists on the night, more than CSC as a team combined, as she continues to push to stay in the top-five in the RMAC in that category. She also finished with nine digs.
Meghan Sipe had 15 digs, seven kills, and two blocks to remain as one of the team's most versatile players as she added to the defense that was also helped by libero Kelsey Olson who finished with 14 digs.
CSC's Nikki Schmidt and Brittany Oddo both had 17 digs while Schmidt also led the way for her team with 28 assists.
Nichols will look forward to having her squad focus on improving their first set performance while continuing to develop the identity of her team heading into the weekend's games at home from the Young Center.
"Our focus will be on a strong start this weekend as the first set seems to elude us," Nichols said. "We will look to strong offense from Caitlin and Amy as well as disciplined defense from Kelsey, Meghan and Brynn. Shelby and Holly will need to continue to be a force at the net."
The Jackets play host to UC-Colorado Springs (5-5, 0-2 RMAC) on Friday night (9/27) at 7 p.m. MT, and will take on arch-rival South Dakota School of Mines (4-9) on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013 at 3 p.m. MT.
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