The Utah State Eastern women's volleyball team opened Scenic West Athletic Conference play with back-to-back sweeps of Colorado Northwestern Community College on Friday and Saturday at the Bunnell-Dmitrich Athletic Center.
The Eagles returned to their home court for the first time this season and opened the new SWAC schedule with a pair of 3-0 victories over the Spartans. Under the new conference schedule, teams will face each other on consecutive days, giving Eastern and CNCC a two-match weekend to open conference play.
Eastern opened Friday's match with a 25-15 victory in the first set, taking advantage of 12 CNCC errors. The Eagles continued to control the match in the second set, using a 10-4 run to secure a 25-13 victory.
CNCC attempted to mount a comeback in the third set, cutting Eastern's lead to two late in the frame. The Eagles responded by closing out the set 25-17 to complete the sweep.
Sela Christiansen led Eastern with 11 kills, while Selah Nickel recorded seven blocks and Kielana Gasu added 17 digs to anchor the Eagles defensively.
Eastern carried the momentum into Saturday's rematch, opening with a dominant 25-8 victory. Kinsey Parsons recorded three kills in the opening set as the Eagles took an early lead. Eastern matched Friday's first-set score in the second, again winning 25-8 after closing the set on a 15-3 run.
The Spartans again attempted to extend the match in the third set, but Eastern closed out the frame 25-20 to complete its second consecutive sweep.
Christiansen recorded 10 kills on Saturday, giving her double-digit kills in each match of the weekend.
The Eagles will return to action next weekend with a trip to No. 12 College of Southern Idaho. Eastern and CSI will meet at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, and noon Saturday, Sept. 26.
