Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 EPRHARIM, Utah (Oct. 22, 2016) – The eighth-ranked Snow College women's volleyball team improved to 18-8/5-4 on the season with a pair of victories over the weekend. The Badgers defeated Utah State-Eastern, 3-1, on Thursday, followed by a decisive 3-0 victory over Colorado Northwestern on Saturday. Thursdays game marked the team's first game at home in nearly one month.
 
"After spending the past three weekends on the road, it's nice to play at home," Snow College head coach Jeff Reynolds said. "Maybe we were getting a little road weary, I think. Being at home this weekend allowed us to re-focus on our team goals and to get some much-needed rest. These games this weekend were important for us. I'm extremely pleased with how we went to work this week on fixing the things that needed to be fixed, and re-gaining a little lost confidence."
 
After a slow start on Thursday against Utah State-Eastern—dropping the first set 17-25—the Badgers turned it up a notch to win the next three sets, 25-19, 25-23, 25-21. Sophomore Brin Stewart led the charge with a match-high 14 kills on 35 attempts, registering an impressive .314 hitting percentage. Stewart also added three aces on the night and a team-best 17 digst. Freshman Thea Leiataua came off the bench to register 13 kills on 24 attempts, posting a mark of .292. The former Timpview High School standout also had 10 digs and was credited with 19 serve-receive opportunities without a single error.
 
Learning from Thursday's sluggish start, the Badgers jumped out to an early lead in the first set against Colorado Northwestern and never looked back. Snow defeated the Spartans, 25-11 in game one, followed by a 25-15 win in game two, and a 25-17 victory in the third and final set.
 
"After starting out slow the past three matches, I think we finally realized how important it is to get off to a good start in a match," Reynolds said. "Part of our game plan was to start fast, manage our points, control the tempo, and maintain the intensity throughout the match. I think we executed that part of the game plan to near perfection."
 
While the Badger offense proved to be highly effective against CNCC, it was the Snow defense that made the difference in Saturday's match. The Badgers held the Spartans to a -.038 hitting percentage, forcing 26 errors and digging 32 of CNCC's 106 attack attempts. The Snow blockers also registered 10.5 blocks in the match. Sophomore libero Sydnie Martindale chalked up 18 digs for the game, while Stewart added 10 digs and a team-high five blocks. Freshman Maddie Loar was credited with four blocks in the victory.
 
Offensively, Snow chalked up 23 kills on 79 attempts with only five attack errors. Sophomore Alisi Tauteoli led the charge with 18 assists.
 
"Our defense really stepped up," Reynolds said. "Our blockers and back-row defense caused their hitters some problems. We have a lot of respect for their attack, but our defense did a really nice job of forcing them to adjust."
 
The Badgers will next take on Southern Nevada on Saturday, Oct. 29 in Ephraim, beginning at 1 p.m. The CSN game will mark the final regular-season game of the season. Snow will then participate in the Scenic West Athletic Conference on November 4-5. The tournament will be held in either Salt Lake City or Twin Falls, Idaho.