OPENING SERVE: The Snow College volleyball team will travel to Price, Utah to take on No. 6 Utah State University-Eastern Friday followed by a meeting with Colorado Northwestern Community College Saturday in Rangely, Colorado. The matchup with USU-E will be the second in as many games the Badgers have faced off against another team in the NJCAA Division I Volleyball Rankings.
Snow College suffered a 3-1 loss against No. 4 Salt Lake Community College at home last Saturday. With the loss, the Badgers dropped from No. 3 to No. 5 in the rankings while the Bruins took over the No. 3 spot.
The Badgers (11-2, 1-1) will hope to right the ship against the Eagles Friday in Price. The match is slated to begin at 6 p.m. inside the Bunnell-Dmitrich Athletic Center. The Badgers will then square off with the Spartans at 1:00 p.m. inside Hefley Gym Saturday.
KNOW YOUR FOE: USU-E comes into this top-10 matchup with a 17-3 overall record and a 1-0 record within the Scenic West Athletic Conference. The Eagles have earned five victories over ranked teams so far this season and are currently riding a 14-game winning streak with their last loss coming to No. 6 Miami Dade College August 27.
USU-E finished last season with a 20-8 overall record and a second-round loss in the Region 18 tournament to Snow College. The Badgers won that matchup 3-0.
Snow College has mostly controlled the matchup history having won 17 out of 22 matchups with the Eagles dating back to 2011. The Badgers won two out of the three matchups with USU-E last season. The Badgers claimed a 3-1 victory at home September 23. The Eagles got their revenge a few weeks later winning 3-1 in Price, October 16. As mentioned earlier Snow College got the better in the rubber match in the Region 18 Final.
CNCC has struggled to begin the season and owns an 0-7 overall record and 0-1 inside the SWAC. The Spartans came into the season after a 2021 season that saw them go 1-23 and 0-10 in conference play.
Snow College has an unblemished record against the Spartans dating back to 2011 going a perfect 23-0. The Badgers picked up a pair of 3-0 sweeps last season against CNCC.
LAST TIME OUT: The Bruins came out firing on all cylinders in the first set and launched out to a 15-6 lead. The Badgers would rally and bring the score to 16-12 before SLCC went on a 9-2 run to win the opening set 25-14.
Set two was much closer as it saw six lead changes and 16 ties. The Badgers had a set point opportunity with the score at 24-22, but the Bruins wouldn't go down quietly and went on a 3-0 to turn the tables 25-24. Snow College responded and went a 3-0 run as well to win the set 27-25.
The Badgers struggled in set three en route to 25-20 loss. Snow College committed seven service errors and gave up three service aces. SLCC led 17-10 midway through the set and never looked back claiming the third set.
The Bruins used a 7-1 run in the fourth set to gain a 12-7 lead after the Badgers jumped out to an early lead. Snow College would try to cut into the lead but only managed to get within four during the rest of the set and the Bruins earned the victory 25-18.
Kesa Makasini led the attack for the Badgers as she finished with 14 kills.
Tricia Tua'one and
Macie Gordon each had nine kills. Snow College handed out 41 assists, 21 by
Meg Carter and 18 by
Corinne Taysom. As a team, the Badgers finished with a .221 hitting percentage.
UP NEXT: The Badgers will face off with the College of Southern Nevada in a home-and-home series. Snow College will host the Coyotes Monday beginning at 6:00 p.m. and then will travel to Henderson October 8 at 2:00 p.m. inside the Coyote Center.
The Coyotes are currently 5-10 overall and 1-1 in conference play this season. They lost to Salt Lake Community College 3-0 and then defeated the College of Southern Idaho last weekend. CSN will also face off against CNCC and USU-E Friday and Saturday, respectively. For more information, visit snowbadgers.com
