The preseason order is voted on by the league's 15 head coaches, who rank the other 14 programs without voting for their own team. The Preseason All-RMAC team is comprised of the top 14 returning players based on voting totals from last season's all-conference awards. 

MSU Denver are the runaway favorites to win the league this season, receiving 13 of a possible 14 first-place votes and finishing with 194 points. The Roadrunners have won the past four regular-season RMAC championships and are currently on a streak of 24 consecutive seasons making the NCAA Tournament. Chadron State was one of only four RMAC teams to take a set off MSU Denver during conference play last season, when the Roadrunners won in four sets in the Chicoine Center last September 21. 

Colorado Mesa is second in the poll, earning the final two first-place votes, 11 second-place votes and one third-place vote to finish with 183 points. Colorado Christian, who advanced to the finals of the RMAC Tournament last season, comes in third in the preseason poll with 162 points. 

South Dakota Mines, last season's surprise with a third-place regular-season finish, are picked fourth in 2025 with 154 points. The rest of the top 10 features CSU Pueblo, Regis, Westminster, UCCS and Adams State and Colorado School of Mines in a tie for ninth. 

Spots 11-13 are incredibly close, with 11^th-place Fort Lewis receiving 59 points in the poll, 12^th-place Western Colorado receiving 57 and the 13^th-place Eagles receiving 55. The poll is rounded out by New Mexico Highlands and Black Hills State. 

Led by seventh-year head coach Jennifer Stadler, Chadron State will need to replace both student-athletes that earned All-RMAC recognition last season (libero Alondra Hernandez and middle Aiyana Fujiyama) but still return a solid core of contributors. 

The Eagles return each of their top three kill leaders from a season ago in junior Kally Kirkwood (191 kills), senior Alejandra Briseno (181) and sophomore Mataya Ward (156). Former All-RMAC selection and senior Bella Adams will provide leadership and returns after posting 135 kills and 61 blocks in 2024. Junior Avery Lacy, who ranked second on the team behind league leader Hernandez in digs last season with 221, is poised to take over the libero role.

The Eagles will also feature talented newcomers including Shelbi Hazlitt, a transfer from Nebraska-Kearney and Coe College whose father, mother and aunt are all former CSC athletes. Chadron State will also welcome two juco transfers in outside hitter Gibson Beckler (Missouri State-West Plains) and middle hitter Chloe Grady (Western Nebraska CC), plus a freshman class of four that includes Lincoln, Nebraska athletes Jillian Donovan and Shelby Harding. 

Chadron State volleyball's 2025 season opens within the friendly confines of the Chicoine Center when CSC hosts the six-team Eagle Classic from September 4-6. RMAC play begins September 19-20, with the Eagles on the road at Colorado Christian and CSU Pueblo, before CSC's RMAC home opener on Friday, September 26 against Fort Lewis. The Eagles will face Western Colorado the following evening, Saturday, September 27, as part of a homecoming doubleheader with CSC football.
 

CSC Spirit Invited To Nationals For First Time

CHADRON, Neb. – The Chadron State spirit program made history when the Eagles cheer team earned its first-ever invitation to the National Cheer Association (NCA) national championships after a successful visit from college cheerleading's governing body. 
 
The team earned a Bronze Bid certification with a superior ribbon from NCA officials, who were on campus in Chadron earlier in August for an intensive two-day camp to both educate and evaluate the Eagle program. An NCA camp, which had never been held in Chadron prior to this year, is the only way to receive approval to compete at college cheer's highest level. 

"Getting the bid is a great opportunity for our program," CSC head spirit coach Sydney Gwerder said. "It gives us the opportunity to learn new materials, push the limits and have a chance to compete and attend nationals." 

While the NCA evaluators concluded that Chadron State's spirit program met the requirements to compete at a national level, the camp was still full of coaching and education from the guest instructors on how to make the Eagles even better. 

"They asked us what skills we were interested in learning, so that we could get some information that would be helpful in developing for this season," Gwerder said. "We were also fortunate to have a male instructor, so that the three males on our team could work with someone who had experience in that area."

The Eagle cheer team came away with several new tricks, including various stunts and a sideline pyramid, that they are excited to showcase during 2025-26 CSC gamedays. The cheer team plans to be in attendance for all home football, volleyball and basketball games this season before turning their attention to nationals in April. 

"Going to NCA still allows us to finish out our commitment to showing up on the sidelines and being there to support our teams throughout their seasons," Gwerder said. "After that, we'll have a good six weeks to prepare for competition." 

While getting a co-sign from the NCA is a big step in making cheer a competitive program, it opens up more hurdles for the CSC program to clear.

"Traveling to Daytona, Florida, where the competition is held, is a pretty significant expense," Gwerder said. "We will be focusing a lot on fundraising this year in order to make sure we can make that a reality."

Like other Chadron State sports, the cheer program has a crowdfunding platform through the Chadron State Foundation where supporters can donate to the program directly. The Eagles' cheer and dance teams also have online stores with branded t-shirts, sweatshirts and headgear available, with proceeds benefitting the program's nationals and general operating costs. Those stores, available now, close August 31^st. 

Gwerder is planning other fundraisers as well, starting with a Music Bingo night at Wild's Bar and Grill in Chadron on September 8. The cheer team is also highly visible in community events, assisting new CSC freshmen during move-in day and welcoming Chadron Middle School students at the entrance on the first day of school last week. 

The team sporadically offers tryouts and open practices to draw more interested students to join. In trying to raise the level of Chadron State's cheer team and re-establishing a dance team on campus, Gwerder said her main goal is to improve the gameday atmosphere. 

"We want more bodies out there that are all working to support our teams," Gwerder said. "That helps amplify the spirit and pump up the crowd a little bit more, but it also provides more opportunities for our students to get involved."