CHADRON, Neb.  Western Colorado and host Chadron State College battled out of 19 ties in Saturday's Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference volleyball match, with the host Eagles escaping with narrow set wins in a 3-0 victory at the Chicoine Center.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Chadron def. Western, 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-21)
Records: Western 2-11 (1-5 RMAC), Chadron 7-8 (5-1)
Location: Chicoine Center, Chadron, Nebraska

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Once in each set Western battled back from deficits to tie the score, only to have the Eagles answer with a run that would essentially decide the set.
• In the opening set that decisive point came with the score tied at 18-18 following a Chadron attack error. The Eagles would string together a 6-0 run to break the deadlock, and though Western would fight off three set points, Chadron would take the set with a four-point cushion.
• An early 4-0 Eagles run in the second set was eventually negated when Western tied things up at 10-10 on a Hailee Martinez service ace, and then again at 11-11 on Jordyn Todd's kill from the left side. Chadron, however, embarked on a 9-2 run for a 20-13 lead, an advantage that withstood Western's own 7-3 run that narrowed the gap but ultimately fell just short.
• Tied for the fifth time in the third set, Chadron scratched out a 4-1 run to break a 15-15 deadlock before finishing the set with a four-point edge for the set and match victory.

BEHIND THE NUMBERS

• In addition to the 19 ties in the match, the lead changed hands a total of 7 times.
• Western actually registered more kills than did Chadron, 41-39, but the gap in attack errors – 23 by the Mountaineers to only 9 by the Eagles – played a role in the final scores of each set.
• Emily Mangone topped Western's attack numbers, finishing with nine kills while also adding in a service ace and a block assist for a total of 10.5 points in the loss.
• Todd fell just short of double digits on the attack, ending the match with eight. She also added one block assist.
• Elizabeth Rupprecht continued her season-long run of being a tough out on serve receive. She came up with all 14 opportunities when Chadron chose to serve in her direction, also matching that figure in her digs total, which tied for match-high honors.
• The Chadron victory breaks a two-match win streak Western had put together over the Eagles.

UP NEXT
Western is on the road again for its next RMAC outings, traveling to Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 20 to take on host Westminster College, then stopping at Grand Junction, Colo., the next night on the way home to take on Colorado Mesa University.