The Utah State Eastern women's volleyball team took a short trip north to play in the Crystal Innvitational hosted by Salt Lake Community College. The Eagles were given matchups against Weatherford College, Central Wyoming College, New Mexico Junior College, and Western Nebraska Community College.
The Eagles opened the tournament with a ranked opponent, Weatherford College. The Eagles lost in the first set, 25-18, and again in the second set, 27-25. Eastern rebounded with a 25-23 win in the third set. Weatherford, however, took the fourth set, winning the match 3-1.
Madelin Newbold led the Eagles with 13 kills and added four blocks to her performance.
Eastern showed some resolve, bouncing back in its match against Central Wyoming. Eastern opened the match with a 25-18 win in the first set. The Eagles continued the momentum with a 25-17 win in the second set, before completing the sweep, 25-23, in the third set.
Sela Christiansen and
Presley Decker each had 10 kills in the match.
Looking to build on the momentum of the match before, the Eagles faced New Mexico Junior College. The Eagles fell in the first set, 25-19, but rebounded to win sets two and three, 25-20 and 25-13. NMJC would take the fourth set, 25-23, and would outlast the Eagles, 15-10, in the decisive fifth set. The Eagles fell to NMJC, 3-2.
Presley Decker continued an impressive weekend with 11 kills.
To end the weekend, USU Eastern faced off against Western Nebraska CC. The Eagles found themselves in a 2-0 hole to the Cougars. After Western Nebraska won the first two sets, 25-23 and 25-10, Eastern won the third set, 25-16, and the fourth set, 25-15, to force a fifth set. In a back-and-forth battle, the Eagles eventually fell, 15-12, in the final set. The Cougars beat the Eagles, 3-2, in the match.
Next for Utah State Eastern is a trip to Twin Falls, Idaho to participate in the CSI Starr Corporation Invite. At the invite, they will face two familiar foes, Western Nebraska CC and Central Wyoming. They will also face Treasure Valley Community College.
