The Utah State Eastern women's volleyball team saw its 2026 season come to an end Thursday with a 3-0 loss to No. 2-seeded College of Southern Idaho in the Scenic West Athletic Conference postseason tournament at Salt Lake Community College.
The Eagles entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed and faced Southern Idaho for the third time this season. The two teams battled throughout the opening set, but the Golden Eagles pulled away late to take the set 25-20.
Eastern and Southern Idaho remained close in the second set, with the teams tied at 12 midway through the frame. The Eagles and Golden Eagles continued to trade leads before Southern Idaho closed the set on a 7-4 run to win 25-20 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Eastern opened the third set with a 9-3 run, looking to extend the match. Southern Idaho responded with a 10-2 run to take a 13-11 lead. The Eagles battled back and tied the set at 16, but the Golden Eagles closed the match strong, outscoring Eastern 9-2 down the stretch to win the set 25-18 and complete the 3-0 sweep.
Sela Christiansen led the Eagles with nine kills and three blocks, while Selah Nickel added five kills and three blocks.
Eastern finished the season with a 15-13 overall record and an 8-4 mark in conference play. Christiansen led the Eagles with 233 kills, followed by Madelin Newbold with 209.
Alivia Manning finished the season with 130 blocks, ranking 23rd nationally. As a team, Eastern finished 10th in the nation in blocks. Kielana Gasu anchored the Eagles defensively with 362 digs on the season.
