Jose Briseno – USU Eastern Assistant SID

Photo courtesy of Dallin Grant

The No. 18 Utah State Eastern women’s volleyball team hosted their final two regular season matches of the regular season. On Friday, they hosted Colorado Northwestern Community College before a matchup with No. 5 Salt Lake Community College on Saturday.

On Friday, the Eagles need a win against the CNCC Spartans to stay alive in the hunt for postseason play. The Eagles dominated the first set from start to finish. With the score 13-7 in favor of the Eagles, Eastern used an 8-0 run to distance themselves from the Spartans, and won the first set, 25-10. The second was more dominant than the first, with Eastern having runs of five-straight, six-straight, and nine-straight to win the second set, 25-6. The Eagles left no doubt in the third set, dominating the third set, 25-12, en route to a 3-0 sweep of the Spartans.

Audrey Atwood recorded 11 kills and three aces to help the Eagles offensively. Atwood added 11 digs in the match to support two blocks from Clara Philipsson.

To conclude the regular season, the Eagles faced off against the No. 5 SLCC Bruins. The two teams traded points in the first set, but it was the Eagles who prevailed, 25-18. The second set was a back-and-forth battle that was won by SLCC, 14-25, after a 6-1 run to close the set. The third set was similar to the first, but after being tied 19-19, SLCC scored six of the last nine points to win the set, 22-25. Eastern was unable to hold on to a late lead in the fourth set, leading to a 22-25 SLCC win in the set. The Bruins won the match, 3-1.

Following a North Idaho College loss to the College of Southern Idaho, the Eagles made the Scenic West Athletic Conference Tournament as the No. 4 seed. They will travel to SLCC to face the No. 1 Bruins in the tournament semifinals. The match is scheduled for Wednesday, November 5, at 4:00 p.m.