By: Calvin Jensen, USU Eastern Volleyball

GRAND JUNCTION, COLORADO – The USU Eastern volleyball team played their final scrimmage on Wednesday against Colorado Mesa University.  The Lady Eagles knew the competition would be tough against the NCAA Division II reigning RMAC champions but they were ready for the challenge.

The teams agreed to play 5 full sets as part of the scrimmage.   Both brought fierce intensity in set 1 and exchanged point for point throughout with a final score of 29-27 in favor of the Mavericks.  USU Eastern struggled to find consistency in set 2 but came back in set 3 just short of the win.  The Lady Eagles refused to give up and came back with high energy to dominate sets 4 and 5.

“We were very proud of our team tonight.  I knew it was going to be tough to play on CMU’s home court however I knew our team was ready for the challenge and I didn’t see any signs of them giving up throughout the game.  They continued to fight and we made adjustments to end the scrimmage on such a positive note winning those last two sets.  I love these scrimmages because we learn so much as a team and are able to focus our practices on things we know we need to work on,” said Head Coach Danielle Jensen.

The Lady Eagles will begin their tournament play this weekend in Richfield, Utah for the Snow College Invitational.  There will be 4 games played throughout the weekend meeting up first with Otero Junior College Friday at 3PM.

The first home game for the team will be played this Monday August 26th at 6PM against Eastern Arizona. All games can be viewed Live on USU Eastern’s Volleyball Facebook page.