Women’s Volleyball- Calvin Jensen, USU Eastern Sports Information Contributor:
Ephraim, UT/Las Vegas, NV – The No.12 Lady Eagles (26-8, 7-3) hit the road this weekend as they competed in their final two games of the regular season. Looking to hold on to the #2 spot in Scenic West standings, the Lady Eagles knew what was on the line in both contests of the weekend.
The team would begin their final road trip of the season traveling to the home of the 5th ranked Snow College Badgers (29-2, 10-0). The Eagles knew they would need to enter the contest eliminating the errors that heavily contributed to their 3-0 loss earlier in the season. During the first set The Eagles would battle Snow College point for point until the Badgers would pull away late in the set for the 25-20 win.
The Eagles had a tough time rebounding as they began the second set and struggled to organize any type of offensive attack against the Badgers. With several substitutions off the bench in an attempt to gain some kind of traction offensively, the Eagles would ultimately drop the second set 25-11. Following a short break between sets, The Eagles came out in the third set and took an early lead calling for a quick Badgers timeout. The Eagles would make two big runs throughout the set and would defeat the Badgers with a thrilling 25-21 third set victory.
With the momentum in The Eagles favor they continued to apply pressure on the Badgers. Late in the fourth set, with several opportunities to send the game to five, The Lady Eagles would be their own worst enemy. After leading the entire set, the team’s errors allowed Snow to tie the score late in the game. Serving errors by the Eagles led to a heartbreaking loss 27-25.
On Saturday the team would travel to Las Vegas to take on the College of Southern Nevada (4-20, 0-10). With the Coyotes still looking for their first win in conference play and with nothing to lose, the Coyotes stunned the Lady Eagles with a 25-19 first set win. Knowing a loss against CSN would cost them a hard fought second seed placement in tournament standings, including a coveted first round bye, the Lady Eagles rebounded in the following sets controlling the momentum and picking up the wins in the final three sets, 25-21 25-19, 25-7.
The Lady Eagles wrap up their regular season with a record 26 wins and 8 losses. With a 7-3 record in SWAC play, the Eagles secure the #2 spot in conference standings and earn a first round bye in this weekend’s tournament. They will face the winner of Southern Idaho and Southern Nevada on Friday at 4 p.m. at host Snow College in Ephraim, Utah.