USU Eastern Press Release:
PRICE, UTAH – The No.18 Utah State Eastern volleyball team finished their home schedule with a 3-0 win on Saturday against the College of Southern Nevada Coyotes.
The Eagles rebounded against CSN after a 3-0 loss on Friday night against No. 7 Snow College.
USU Eastern Head Coach Danielle Jensen said after the game that she was proud of her team’s performance on Saturday.
“This conference is the best in the nation. There is not another conference that has four nationally ranked teams in it. I was really proud of the girls that they were able to come out strong and play a great game after a tough loss the night before,” said Jensen.
According to sophomore Sidney Springer, the way her team responded and played on Saturday was very important.
“Having games back to back so fast forces you to move on to the next game really quick, it was huge for us to turn around and sweep CSN like we did,” said Springer.
Springer got the scoring started against the Coyotes in the first set which was dominated by the Eagles. Springer scored three of the first four points to help the Eagles build an early lead.
Utah State Eastern would go on to win the first set by double digits 25-14.
The Coyotes started the second set with an impressive 7-1 start to put the Eagles behind early.
Errors by CSN and the play of Springer would cut the Coyotes lead to 16-15. Springer finished the second set with service aces and six kills.
The Eagles finished the second set with a 9-3 run to win the set 25-20 over the Coyotes.
In the third set the Eagles would complete the sweep of the Coyotes with a 25-18 set win.
Jensen said that the win wasn’t just a win, it was a game that can give them the energy and confidence needed in the last weeks of the season.
“They played really, really well together and it was refreshing for the team to play together like that and get a win they can build off of and take the energy into the rest of conference play and the region tournament,” said Jensen.
After the game freshman Sarah Mafi said her team wanted to get the win for the five sophomores playing in their last game at home.
“The sophomores have done so much for our team and getting a win for them was really important to all of us,” said Mafi.
Leading the Eagles in scoring was Mackenzie Carter who finished the game with 12 kills.
Springer finished the game with 10 kills, 6 aces, and 8 digs.
Sophomore Agatha Roese-Olsen had 35 assists and Freshman Megan Gurr had a team-high 14 digs against CSN.
With the win, the Eagles now have a 4-4 conference record and a 17-7 overall record heading into the final week of the regular season.
Going into the final week of the regular season, Mafi says if her team just needs to stay focus and to build confidence that will be needed to pull off a win.
“We have a lot going on with school and everything but with this being the last weekend before the region tournament it is super important to focus on this weekend and to gain confidence in each other and ourselves,” said Mafi.
This Friday they will travel to Twin Falls, Idaho to take on No. 3 College of Southern Idaho at 7 p.m.
On Saturday, they will wrap up their regular season against No. 11 Salt Lake Community College at 3 p.m. in Taylorsville.
Fans can follow the Eagles as the pursue a conference championship on Facebook at Utah State Eastern Athletics or on Twitter at twitter.com/usueathletics.
**Photo taken by Tyson Chappell