TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (March 24, 2021) -- The third-ranked Snow College women's volleyball team defeated No. 14 Salt Lake C.C. in straight sets on Thursday, 25-19, 25-10, 25-19. The win gives the Badgers at least a share of the Scenic West Athletic Conference Championship, marking the second straight season Snow College has won the conference title and the third time in the past four years. The win also marks the fifth straight 20-win season for the Badgers, dating back to 2016; and marks the ninth victory this season over a nationally-ranked opponent.
Snow put on a defensive clinic, holding the Bruins to a -.041 hitting percentage on the night, including a .000 in the first set, a -.211 in the second set, and a .068 in the third and final set. The Badgers collected a match-high 53 digs and out-blocked Salt Lake C.C. 15 to 5.5. Sophomore
Camden Strain led the Badgers with 12 digs, along with freshman
Macy Short and sophomore
Jentry Ison who had 11 digs each. Sophomore
Lydia Montague was credited with 10 blocks, including eight assists and two solo blocks. Freshman Kjersti Strong chipped in five blocks, including two solos and three assisted blocks.
"We felt like coming in to the match we had to make some changes on defense," Snow College head coach Jeff Reynolds said. "We made a couple adjustments during the week and the defense really stepped up. Lydia and Kjersti did an amazing job at the net, and our back-row defense was exceptional at being in the right place at the right time. Salt Lake is a very dangerous team with a number of offensive weapons, so we had to come up with a way to slow them down. I couldn't be more pleased with the way our defense controlled the game tonight."
Offensively, the Badgers were able to capitalize on the team's defensive efforts. Montague was credited with a match-high 12 kills on 23 attempts with just two errors to hit .435. Sophomore
Bridgett Talia tacked on nine kills of her own, followed by
Macie Gordon who had eight kills. Short posted a match-high 32 assists to go with her 11 digs, marking her 10th double-double of the season.
Snow will travel to Twin Falls, Idaho on Friday to take on Southern Idaho in the regular-season finale. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
