In their conference opening weekend the 9th ranked Lady Eagles competed against the fourth ranked Badgers of Snow College (16-2, 2-0). In what is becoming a traditional all-out battle, USU Eastern was unable to carry their first set victory to an opening weekend defeat of Snow, falling by a score of 1 to 3.
Scoring points was a seesaw affair throughout the four set competition and the intense energy never faded for both programs. Following an impressive first set victory of 25-23 by the Lady Eagles, inconsistent blocking by USU Eastern would ultimately allow Snow's powerful front row lineup to gain the advantage in the final three sets, 22-25, 22-25, and 21-25.
Middle blocker
Kamryn Wiese and outside hitter
Sammy Perry each had 9 kills against the Badgers followed close behind by right side hitter
Alyssa Simmons with eight.
Ashlee McUne had 3 aces and 16 assists while
Emma Ricks protected the court leading with 19 digs defensively.
"It's not how we wanted to start conference play and we knew going into it we would have to focus on defending their hitters," said head coach
Danielle Jensen. "As bad as we wanted that win, there were so many things that we have been working on in practice that the team displayed on the court. That effort allowed for us to stay in that game and that was very promising."
Continuing on in Scenic West play, the Lady Eagles traveled from Ephraim to Las Vegas, Nevada to compete in their 18th consecutive road game against the College of Southern Nevada (4-9, 1-1). USU Eastern came out swinging and never looked back in the three set sweep of the Coyotes (25-19, 25-14, 25-13).
Front row hitters
Alyssa Simmons and
Sammy Perry led the offense with nine kills each while
Kamryn Wiese defended the net with four blocks and 6 kills.
Emma Ricks had 22 digs defensively adding 2 aces in the game.
Ashlee McUne had 22 assists in organizing the impressive offense performance against Southern Nevada.
Eager to play in front of their home crowd, USU Eastern will host the College of Southern Idaho (9-7, 0-1) in their conference home opener this Thursday, September 30 at 6 p.m. in the Bunnell Dmitrich Athletic Center. They will remain at home on Saturday, October 2 as they welcome the 6th ranked Bruins of Salt Lake Community College (15-3, 1-0) at 1 p.m.
