RICHFIELD, Utah (Aug. 23, 2019) -- The 11th-ranked Snow College women's volleyball team started the 2019 campaign off with a pair of victories at the Sevier Valley Center in Richfield. The Badgers collected a decisive victory over Western Wyoming, 3-0, in the early match and followed that up with a thrilling 3-2 win over Otero Friday evening. 

The first game of the day saw the Badgers fall to a five-point deficit before they got things going. Strong serving by sophomores Andreann McKee and Savannah Tanner propelled Snow to an impressive 25-8 victory in the first set.  The Badgers continued to serve well throughout the match with McKee leading the way with five aces. McKee, along with freshmen Camden Strain, and sophomore Marcie Stapley all had a team-high seven kills in the victory. All totaled, the Badgers hit .339 and held the Mustangs to -.217 at the net. Defensively, Tanner had a match-high nine digs and Stapley was credited with a match-best five blocks. 

"Serving was so critical in this match," Snow College head coach Jeff Reynolds said. "We knew going in that we had a couple targets and if we could really focus in on hitting those targets with our serve, we'd be in good shape. I couldn't be more proud of the way our team put together the complete game -- serving, passing, offense and defense. It all came together and helped us to the first win of the year."

In the evening match, the Badgers dropped the opening set to Otero, 21-25, but came storming back with 25-19 and 25-13 victories in the second and third sets. In the fourth set, Otero jumped out to early lead behind a number of Snow College errors. Otero recorded the 25-17 win in the fourth set to force a fifth and deciding set. With things knotted up at 13-13, McKee had a kill off the block to give the Badgers a one-point lead. Tanner then served to force the Rattlers out of system and unable to get the ball back over the net, giving Snow the 15-13 victory. 

"We took a bit of a break there in the fourth set, but came alive again in the fifth set," Reynolds said. "I was really proud of how our team came from behind, showed a lot of poise and grit down the stretch to take care of business. It was a little stressful, but a nice way to end the day. Again, it was a solid team victory. Every member of this team helped us get this victory."

For the match Strain and fellow freshman Lydia Montague led the Badgers with a match-high 13 kills each, followed by Korrin Thornock who added 12 kills of her own. The Badgers out-blocked Otero by a margin of 10.0 - 4.0, led by sophomore Bridget Tiriplett who was credited with six blocks, including one solo and five assisted blocks. 

Now 2-0 on the season, the Badgers will take on Trinidad State on Saturday, beginning at 11 a.m. in Richfield at the Sevier Valley Center. Snow will conclude the weekend with a 3 p.m. match against Eastern Arizona. The Gila Monsters and Badgers will also meet up on Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. in Ephraim.