CHADRON, Neb. – After facing Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines in RMAC Regional Pod nonconference action earlier this year, Chadron State will face both rivals again this week, with these matchups counting in the RMAC standings.
The Eagles (7-11, 1-7 RMAC) will battle Black Hills State (7-11, 3-5 RMAC) on Tuesday night at home in the Chicoine Center at 6 p.m., having already defeated the Yellow Jackets in nonconference action this season.
Then, CSC faces South Dakota Mines (13-5, 5-3 RMAC) on the road in Rapid City at 2 p.m. Saturday, looking to snap an 0-2 mark against the Hardrockers during the 2026 season.
Tuesday night's home match will be broadcast on both the RMAC Network and the RYZ Network, as well as Double Q Country radio.
Numbers to know
- 100: percent of 2026 home matches that have ended specifically in five-set losses for CSC (5 out of 5)
- 93: Blocks by Sarah Meservey, sixth in Division II
- 34: Sets played in conference play by CSC, the most in the league
- 3: Third meeting this season between Chadron State and South Dakota Mines on Saturday
People are also reading…
How to go
Fans can purchase single-game tickets at the door or ahead of time at chadroneagles.com/tickets. Season tickets are available at the same link.
New in 2026: Chadron State is now selling "Court Sport" passes – one season ticket that provides admission to every home event in the Chicoine Center (volleyball, basketball and wrestling) throughout the 2026-27 season.
Court Sport season tickets are $175 for an adult and $95 for a child, senior or military member and grant entry to over 25 home dates for that price.
Promotional notes
Tuesday will be CSC volleyball's Mental Health Awareness Match, as part of the RMAC's Mental Health Awareness Week from October 10-17.
Chadron State's Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) will hand out green mental health awareness ribbons while The Nest will be handing out shirts to Chadron State students. With the shirts being white T-shirts, Tuesday's match will also be a white out for the CSC crowd.
During the match, Chadron State athletics will also recognize CSC's campus counselors, and mental health resources will be advertised and available for students.
More press
Like all CSC home regular season matches, Tuesday and Saturday's matches will be available to be streamed live on the RMAC Network. Fans without RMAC Network subscriptions will have more options for Tuesday's rivalry showdown between CSC and Black Hills State.
First, the match will be broadcast on the RYZ Network, as part of a larger partnership agreement with the RMAC.
Under the agreement, select RMAC games will be broadcast on the RYZ Sports Network and SI TV, both linear Free Ad-Supported TV (FAST) channels. RYZ Sports Network and SI TV are available through Amazon Prime Video, DirecTV, Fubo, Sling TV, and Fire TV, as well as Samsung TV Plus, PlayStation TV, Roku, LG Channels, VIZIO WatchFree+, Xumo Play, and Google TV.
Finally, Tuesday night's game will be broadcast on the radio on Double Q Country with Dave Collins on the call.
Looking back
After playing six five-set matches in an eight-match stretch beginning with the start of conference play on September 11, Chadron State volleyball had two straight-set losses to first-place teams in MSU Denver and UCCS, both teams that are now receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll.
RECAPS: Friday (MSU Denver) | Saturday (UCCS)
Chadron State committed a season-low nine attack errors in the match against MSU Denver and hit .215, its fourth-best attack percentage of the season, but the Eagles were overwhelmed by exceptional offense from their nationally ranked opponents. UCCS hit .293, the second-highest percentage by a CSC opponent all season, while MSU Denver hit .262, tied for the third-highest.
Lacy is averaging 4.45 digs per set across the 2026 season, which ranks fifth in the RMAC. Lacy has 285 total digs, already just 28 away from surpassing her single-season career high in total digs, while her digs-per-set average is nearly 0.75 per set above her career-high pace as well.
Here for a while
No RMAC team has played more sets in conference matches than Chadron State's 34.
Chadron State had exactly four five-set matches in each of the entire 2024 and 2025 seasons. The Eagles are currently at six in 2026 with eight matches left to play.
The Eagles are currently 0-5 in home matches, with all five losses coming in five sets. Dating back to last season, the Eagles have lost eight consecutive home matches, with six of them in five sets and one in four sets.
Stat standouts
- Sarah Meservey leads the RMAC in total blocks (93) but ranks second in blocks per set (1.33). She is within the top 10 in Division II in both categories, ranking sixth in the nation in total blocks and ninth nationally in blocks per set.
- Avery Lacy ranks fifth in the league in digs per set (4.40) and is third in the RMAC in total digs (308).
- Jillian Donovan ranks fifth in the conference in assists per set (6.56) and total assists (433).
- Mataya Ward ranks sixth in the league in kills per set (3.12) and seventh in points per set (3.54).
- The Eagles have heavily featured Gibson Beckler and Mataya Ward in their attack. Beckler ranks fourth in the RMAC in attack attempts per set (9.40) while Ward is sixth at 8.96 per set.
In the polls
Chadron State was picked 15th in the RMAC Preseason Coaches Poll. The poll is voted on by the league's head coaches, who each rank the other 14 programs without voting for their own team.
UCCS finished atop the poll with 187 points and eight first-place votes after capturing a share of the RMAC regular-season championship a year ago, the first such title in program history. Colorado Mesa (169 points, one first-place vote) came second in the poll and had the most second-place votes (five) of any school.
MSU Denver received four first-place votes, second-most in the league, but only ended up tied for third in the poll, receiving 165 points alongside Colorado School of Mines.
CSU Pueblo is in fifth, while Colorado Christian, Fort Lewis, South Dakota Mines, Westminster and Regis round out the top 10. Adams State, New Mexico Highlands, Western Colorado and Black Hills State rounded out the poll, finishing just ahead of CSC's 38 points.
RMAC update
No RMAC teams are ranked in the AVCA Coaches Poll. Colorado Mesa, Colorado School of Mines, MSU Denver and UCCS are receiving votes in the poll.
Here is a look at the current RMAC standings:
- #RV Colorado Mesa – RMAC record 7-1, overall record 15-3
- #RV MSU Denver – RMAC record 7-1, overall record 12-6
- #RV UCCS – RMAC record 7-1, overall record 12-6
- #RV Colo. Sch. Of Mines – RMAC record 6-2, overall record 15-3
- South Dakota Mines – RMAC record 5-3, overall record 13-5
- Adams State – RMAC record 5-3, overall record 11-9
- Colorado Christian – RMAC record 5-3, overall record 8-8
- Fort Lewis – RMAC record 4-4, overall record 10-8
- CSU Pueblo – RMAC record 4-4, overall record 9-10
- Black Hills State – RMAC record 3-5, overall record 7-11
- Western Colorado – RMAC record 2-6, overall record 7-11
- Westminster – RMAC record 2-6, overall record 3-15
- Chadron State – RMAC record 1-7, overall record 7-11
- New Mexico Highlands – RMAC record 1-7, overall record 3-16
- Regis – RMAC record 1-7, overall record 2-17
# = ranking in AFCA Poll | RV = "receiving votes" in top 25
Scouting the Yellow Jackets
Black Hills State is 7-11 overall, the same record as CSC, but the Yellow Jackets have notched three wins in conference play. In tallying seven wins, BHSU is already past its 2025 season total of six, which itself was the program's most wins since 2021.
BHSU snapped a six-match losing streak, including four conference matches, with a five-set win over New Mexico Highlands last Saturday. The Yellow Jackets' other RMAC wins are against Fort Lewis in five sets and Colorado Christian in four sets. Previously, during the RMAC regional pod, Chadron State defeated Black Hills State in four sets despite a 25-12 BHSU set victory in the opening set.
Izzy Saiki leads Black Hills State with 201 kills (2.91 per set) but Saiki ranks eighth in kills per set during conference play. Saiki also ranks second in the RMAC with 27 aces. Carsyn Mettler (189 kills, .255 percentage) and Zoie Husman (167 kills) also contribute offensively.
Libero Keira Thompson has an RMAC Defensive Player of the Week award on her resume from earlier this season. She has 229 total digs (3.58 per set). Peyton McLeod (48 blocks) and Izabel Abril (44 blocks) are BHSU's top defensive options at the net.
The Yellow Jackets have a second-year head coach in Grayson DuBose, a Division I veteran who spent the last three seasons as an assistant at Eastern Washington but was previously the head coach at Utah State University for 14 years, where he was a two-time Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Coach of the Year.
Scouting the Hardrockers
South Dakota Mines is 13-5 overall and firmly in contention for an RMAC Tournament spot at 5-3 in conference play. After falling to 3-3 in conference, the Hardrockers went 2-0 last week against New Mexico Highlands (3-0) and Adams State (3-2), both on the road.
The Hardrockers are 2-0 against Chadron State this season, sweeping the Eagles during the first tournament of the season in Rapid City on August 28 and going the distance before defeating CSC in five sets at the Chicoine Center on September 24. Chadron State went 2-2 at the King Center earlier this season for a classic, losing to SDM and Jamestown while defeating Lake Superior State and Minnesota Crookston.
The Hardrockers have two primary attackers, Cate Warren (235 kills, 3.41 per set) and Lexi Glendenning (220, 3.19 per set). Warren and Glendenning rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in kills per set in the RMAC and third and fifth in total kills.
Maria Bouman is a two-way threat, leading the RMAC in total aces (38) and aces per set (0.54) while also ranking seventh in the league in blocks per set (0.99). Campbell Sheffield is SDM's digs leader with 230.
Lauren Prochazka is entering her eighth season with the Hardrockers. Prochazka is 121-121 overall as a head coach and won the 2024 RMAC Coach of the Year honor.
5-for-5
Under a new eligibility ruling passed by the NCAA this summer, all NCAA student-athletes will have five years of eligibility upon entry to college while developmental redshirts and medical waivers that previously could grant another year of eligibility have been eliminated, with exceptions for military service, religious missions and pregnancy.
To accommodate this new system, Chadron State is changing how student-athletes are labeled on its sport rosters – using the term "freshman" for a player in their first year of college, "sophomore" for a player in their second, "junior," "senior" and "fifth-year," regardless of whether the player has previously received a redshirt year.
For example, a player now being referred to as a "junior" has been with Chadron State or another college volleyball program for two seasons (regardless of if they played or not during those seasons) and has three years of eligibility remaining, including 2026.
Coach's corner
Head coach Jennifer Stadler will begin her eighth season in charge of the Chadron State volleyball program in 2025, accumulating a 56-115 record in her first seven seasons.
Prior to CSC, Stadler coached for eight seasons at Sheridan College in Wyoming, racking up three straight 20-win seasons from 2012-2014. She was a player, assistant coach and interim head coach at current RMAC foe Black Hills State, back when the Yellow Jackets competed in the Dakota Athletic Conference.
In her first year at CSC in 2019, Stadler immediately led the Eagles to a winning record of 14-12 and coached the RMAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year in Ashton Burditt. The Eagles had a banner year in 2023, finishing 15-12 for the program's highest win total since 2003. Chadron also had an 8-6 conference mark in 2023, finishing sixth in the league and qualifying for the RMAC Tournament for the first time in 20 years.
