Written by Jose Briseno- Assistant SID
Photo courtesy of USU Eastern
The 2025 season has officially begun for the No. 5 Utah State Eastern women’s volleyball team.
Their campaign began with the Battle at the Beach Tournament in Fort Myers, FL. Their opponents included Hillsborough Community College, No. 1 Florida Southwestern State, Daytona State College, and Eastern Florida State College.
The tournament started with a morning contest against Hillsborough CC. In a back-and-forth contest, the Eagles swept HCC 25-23, 25-20, 25-22. Emilia Zug led Eastern with 13 kills, followed closely by Audrey Atwood, who had eight. Defensively, Clara Philipsson and Ella Persson held strong as Eastern was able to hold off late charges by Hillsborough CC. Philipsson ended with six blocks, and Persson tallied 18 digs.
Next on the schedule was No. 1-ranked Florida Southwestern State. The tournament hosts proved the preseason hype with a clean 3-0 sweep of Eastern. The Eagles fought hard, but fell 25-20, 25-10, 25-23. Agata Zwierzynska put together an all-around effort with five kills and two blocks. Atwood added five kills and two aces to lead the Eagles offensively. Persson led USUE with nine digs in the contest.
Eastern was able to bounce back on Saturday with a win over Daytona State College. After a disappointing defeat the night before, the Eagles bounced back with a controlled win of 25-18, 25-20, 25-16. Eastern left no doubt in the match, controlling momentum from the very beginning. Zug and Atwood continued to dominate offensively while Zwierzynska and Persson grounded the Eagles defensively.
The last match-up of the tournament was the only one to go the full five sets. After falling behind 2-1, the Eagles won the last two sets to leave victorious 3-2. Eastern dropped the first set 19-25, but won the second 26-24. Eastern Florida won the third set, 21-25, then Eastern won the last two sets, 25-21 and 15-9.
Next up for USUE is a scrimmage at Westminster University before participating in the Crystal Invitational hosted by Salt Lake Community College.