Calvin Jensen, Sports Information Director, Utah State Eastern
Photo Courtesy by Jeff Barrett
The nationally ranked USU Eastern women’s volleyball team came away with another tournament sweep as they took part in Coyote Classic in Henderson, Nevada. Their final game of the weekend marked the 17th road contest in a row for the young Lady Eagle squad as they find themselves on a remarkable eleven game winning streak, defeating six nationally ranked opponents along the way.
On Saturday the Lady Eagles would take on their 5th opponent of the tournament as they faced 12th ranked Glendale Community College out of Arizona. Glendale knew they would need to come out full throttle against USU Eastern and that they did. The first set would be a point for point battle going into overtime which fell in the Gaucho’s favor by a score of 29-31. It looked as if Eastern would gain the momentum needed after a 25-13 dominating win in the second set but visible fatigue and exhaustion set in for the Lady Eagles and they would find themselves facing defeat following a stunning third set loss of 23-25. In another back-and-forth battle, Eastern late in the fourth set pushed the match into a five-set thriller following the 25-22 fourth set victory. USU Eastern was able to muster up enough energy to gain a sizeable lead and that lead would give them enough room to hit the 15-point mark and down Glendale by a 5th set score of 15-13.
“What the team was able to accomplish against Glendale proved how amazing the athletes we have are,” said head coach Danielle Jensen. “We have played a lot of volleyball in just four weeks, on the road, against some of the best teams in the nation and they truly leveled up in that moment which was amazing to see.”
Freshman outside hitter Kennedi Knudsen led the Lady Eagles on both sides of the net against the Gauchos with a career high 25 kills and career hight 24 digs in an outstanding performance. Freshman outside hitter Haley McUne added 20 kills, 24 digs, and 4 aces in the game. Freshman setter Jenna Thorkelson stepped up in a big way following an injury by fellow teammate and setter, Katie Compas. Thorkelson put up 37 assists to help orchestrate the attacks and freshman middle blocker Casidy Fried put up an impressive 10 kills and 10 blocks.
Immediately following that game, USU Eastern took on South Mountain Community College out of Phoenix, Arizona. Knowing their teammates would need some reprieve, every Lady Eagle stepped onto the court throughout the three-set sweep and helped take home their eleventh victory in a row with set scores of 25-23, 25-17, and 26-16.
“Our non-starters came in and never let the level drop which was huge for us,” added Jensen. “That is what we needed them to do in that moment and they executed. To have such a young team connecting and performing like they are is something special and it’s amazing to see their progress as a result of their hard work.”
Knudsen again pounded away at the ball chalking up 9 kills against the Cougars. McUne added another 4 aces and matched freshman libero Paige Shumway in digs with 11 a piece. Fried added 4 blocks on defense.
9th ranked Utah State Eastern (14-3, 0-0) will once again hit the road as they return to Las Vegas to complete their non-conference schedule against Eastern Arizona and Yavapai College at host College of Southern Nevada. The games will be played on Saturday, September 17 with times TBD.