By Calvin Jensen, USU Eastern Volleyball
Richfield, Utah – The USU Eastern women’s volleyball team traveled to The Sevier Valley Center this past weekend to officially begin their season at the Snow College Invitational. With only two weeks of practice in, they knew the challenge ahead of them playing 4 high energy games within 24 hours.
The Lady Eagles met up with Otero College first in the two-day tournament Friday. In a very close matchup, The Eagles came out with a determination to win. In the first set USU Eastern maintained the lead throughout until Otero made a push in the final moments and tied the game at 25-25. The Eagles came out strong after their timeout and picked up the victory 27-25. The Lady Eagles turned on the heat during the following sets 25-16 and 25-16. Leaders for this game: OH-Kiara Richardson 11 Kills, L-Avery Best 15 Digs, MB-Kahea Nihipali and Alyssa Simmons 4 Blocks, S-Ashlee McUne 40 Assists.
When asked about her team’s success against a tough Otero team, sophomore outside hitter Kiara Richardson said “Keeping a positive attitude even when we were down created constant energy for our team and I felt that helped us get the wins.” Sophomore outside hitter Breanne Bitter agreed, “We played as a team. Everyone on the team gave 100%, we connected so well, we were focused, and our energy was unmatched!”
Later that evening USU Eastern took on Central Wyoming in their second game of the day. The Eagles pivoted off their impressive victory earlier in the day to dominate the Rustlers 3-0 with set scores of 25-16, 25-23, and 25-16. Leaders for this game: OH-Breanne Bitter 12 Kills, DS-Emma Ricks 11 Digs, MB-Alyssa Simmons 5 Blocks, S-Ashlee McUne 26 Assists.
“I couldn’t have asked for more from our team’s effort during these first two games of the year. They came out with no other option than to get the wins and their play reflected that. Everything we’d been working on in practice, in such a short time, came together and they played amazing ball,” said Head Coach Danielle Jensen.
After a short night of rest, USU Eastern took on Trinidad College Saturday morning and had no intentions of changing their winning ways. The USU Eastern Eagles dominated the Trojans 3-0 in their first game of the day with scores of Set 1: 25-13, Set 2: 25-9, Set 3: 25-18. Leaders for this game: OH-Breanne Bitter & Sunny Perry 10 Kills, L-Avery Best 18 Digs, MB-Kahea Nihipali 7 Blocks, S-Ashlee McUne 37 Assists.
In a back-to-back contests, the Lady Eagles played a highly anticipated match against Yavapai College. Earlier in the day, Yavapai defeated reigning national champions and #1 nationally ranked College of Southern Idaho so the Eagles knew the competition they were about to face. Eastern came out with the same intensity they showed throughout the weekend and fought hard to take the first set 27-25. In Set 2 the Eagles jumped out to a quick lead and maintained that lead throughout the set with a final score of 25-20. During sets 3 and 4 the Eagles let up on their defense and Yavapai was quick to take advantage of it handing USU Eastern their first defeated sets of the weekend,16-25 and 19-25. After beng unable to close out the previous two sets The Lady Eagles came up short in the 5th and final set with a heartbreaking, point for point loss of 12-15. Leaders for this game: OPP Sunny Perry13 Kills, L Avery Best 35 Digs, MB Kahea Nihipali 5 Blocks, S Ashlee McUne 53 Assists.
“We quit defensively and that allowed Yavapai to run their offense and maintain the momentum. The team showed signs of mental and physical fatigue and their delayed reaction time allowed for Yavapai to take control of the game. This game helped them understand how valuable their gym time is as well as the mental endurance required to put the game away.
Overall the team did amazing and played so hard. They never got down on themselves and the team support from the sidelines and on the court was amazing throughout the weekend. Those two factors will generate wins for us when playing the tough programs that we will face in this preseason tournament play,” said Coach Jensen
The Lady Eagles will face off against The Eastern Arizona Gila Monsters in their first home game of the season tonight at 6PM in the Bunnell-Dmitrich Athletic Center.
They then travel to Arizona for a 7 game road trip starting with the Dalton Overstreet Tournament in Prescott Arizona. There they will take on South Mountain, Glendale, Monroe, Barton, and #20Arizona Western. Continuing on to Thatcher Arizona they will play two Labor Day matchups against Eastern Arizona and Pima.