SPEARFISH, S.D. – Chadron State came up short in its first of two midweek matches this season, losing to conference rivals Black Hills State in straight sets – 25-22, 25-19, 25-21. 

It is the second loss to Black Hills State that the Eagles have had this season, but this loss comes in an RMAC match to drop CSC to 4-15 overall and 1-8 in the RMAC. Black Hills State, which snapped a three-game losing streak, is 6-13 and 2-7. 

Mataya Ward had 13 kills to lead the Eagles, who finished with two more kills than BHSU over the course of the match (44-42). Bella Adams added 10 kills on a .250 hitting percentage. 

Chadron State racked up 76 digs, tied for the second-most by the Eagles in a match this season and the most in a three-set match. Four Eagles finished with double-digit digs, led by Avery Lacy with a team-high 19. Gibson Beckler added 13, Josie Loosvelt had 11, and Jillian Donovan had 10 to go with 39 assists. 

Lacy, Loosvelt and senior Rylee Ward all spent time in the libero jersey throughout the match, with Loosvelt and Ward splitting duties in the first two sets before Lacy took it over in the third. Donovan finished with 39 assists (her fourth-highest total of the season). 

Chadron State matched up with Black Hills statistically except for two key areas. Aside from finishing with more kills, the Eagles had the edge in aces (5-4) while the two teams finished dead-even in assists (41-41) and digs (76-76). 

The two biggest discrepancies that swung points the Yellow Jackets' way were hitting errors and blocks. The Eagles finished with 23, their third-highest total in a match this season, while BHSU had only nine, the third fewest by a CSC opponent. Also, the Yellow Jackets more than doubled up the Eagles on total blocks (11-5), including seven from Izabel Abril and six from Peyton McLeod. 

Black Hills took control of the first set, opening a 7-2 lead, but the Eagles rallied to tie it at 18-18 after a 5-1 run. The Eagles competed offensively, tallying eight of their last nine points of the set via kill along with a service ace. In that same span, however, the Yellow Jackets recorded five of eight points from CSC errors (mostly Yellow Jacket blocks) to take the set 25-22. 

The Yellow Jackets wrestled control of the second set with a 6-0 scoring run in the middle of the set to turn an 8-8 tie into a 14-8 lead. Although a Shelby Harding ace pulled the Eagles within two points at 17-15, another 4-0 Yellow Jackets run pushed it back up to six and BHSU closed out the second margin by that margin. 

Chadron State struck first for the first time in the third set, with a Lacy ace giving the Eagles a 4-2 lead and a Beckler ace stretching it to 14-10 before the Yellow Jackets took the lead for the first time at 16-15, punctuating a 4-0 run with an ace of their own. The Yellow Jackets won six of the final eight points, with BHSU's final five points being kills, winning the third set 25-21. 

The Eagles have a three-day rest before a Saturday night showdown with South Dakota Mines (5-13, 3-5 RMAC) at 6 p.m. in the Chicoine Center. 

Three Women's Wrestlers, Eagle Program Earn NWCA Rankings

CHADRON, Neb. – Three Chadron State women's wrestlers have earned spots in the preseason national rankings, released by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA), while the Eagles have cracked the top 10 of the preseason national team rankings for the first time.

Rylee Balcazar (ranked No. 9 at 110 pounds), Piper Cadden (No. 6 at 131 pounds) and returning All-American Esther Peters (No. 5 at 207 pounds) were all mentioned in the preseason rankings, which list the top 10 athletes nationally at each of the sport's 10 weight classes.

Based on their rankings, Balcazar, Cadden and Peters earn two, six and seven points respectively towards CSC's team total, which determines the team rankings order. With 15 points, the Eagles are in a four-way tie for the No. 10 spot. 

The rankings come at a historic moment for women's wrestling, which officially became the NCAA's 91^stchampionship sport last winter. The inaugural NCAA Women's Wrestling Championships are set to take place March 6–7 in Coralville, Iowa, at Xtream Arena.

The poll is a Tournament Power Index (TPI) ranking and not based on a team's dual-meet strength. TPI point totals are determined by individual rankings directly correlated to placement points. The poll does not include bonus or advancement points. [1st = 16, 2nd = 12, 3rd = 10, 4th = 9, 5th = 7, 6th = 6, 7th = 4, 8th = 3, 9th = 2, 10th = 1]

Rylee Balcazar enters her sophomore season as a nationally ranked wrestler after an impressive freshman season that saw her raise her competition level according to the stakes. The Fort Lupton, Colorado native was a tournament winner at the Midland Warrior Open and came second in the Bob Smith Open last season. Balcazar placed only fifth at the RMAC Championships but improved to third place at the regional tournament to qualify for nationals, where she placed in the top 12 and went 3-2 overall. 

Piper Cadden is new to Chadron State, but not to the NWCA rankings. The Gilbert, Arizona native spent two seasons with the Fort Hays State program, where she won an NCWWC regional championship and went 2-2 at nationals in the 131-pound bracket before transferring to Chadron State this fall. Cadden accumulated a 36-12 overall record during her time at FHSU. 

Esther Peters made program history last spring as Chadron State women's wrestling's first ever All-American by finishing in seventh place at nationals as a true freshman in 2024-25, and is rewarded with a top five ranking at 207 pounds entering her sophomore season. Peters, one of only two returning 2024-25 All-Americans across all weights in the RMAC this year, went 4-2 at the national tournament and took down tournament wins at the home Chadron State Open as well as the York Open. 

In addition to the national top 10 rankings, the NWCA released regional rankings, comprised of the top five wrestlers at each weight class from each of the country's six regions. 

Chadron State has six wrestlers who appear in the NWCA Region 6 rankings – senior Brianna Vollendroff (No. 3 at 103 pounds), Balcazar (No. 3 at 110), redshirt junior Ana Rojas-Zamora (No. 4 at 124), Cadden (No. 2 at 131), Ella May Shevlin (No. 4 at 180) and Peters (No. 3 at 207).

Vollendroff and Shevlin were each national tournament qualifiers for the Eagles last year (with Vollendroff going 1-2 in the national tournament and Shevlin 0-2). Rojas-Zamora finished second in the RMAC Championships and competed at nationals during the 2023-24 season, but redshirted in 2024-25.

The Eagles will take to the mats for the first time this Friday, in an open to the public intrasquad dual at the Chicoine Center this Friday night at 7 p.m. CSC's first regular season competition will be the Battle of the Rockies Open at the University of Providence in Great Falls, Montana on November 8.

NWCA Preseason Team Rankings