OPENING SERVE: The Snow College women's volleyball team will begin a five-game home stretch beginning with No. 12 Utah State University Eastern and Colorado Northwestern Community College this weekend in Ephraim. The Badgers will take on the Eagles Thursday at 6:00 p.m. followed by hosting the Spartans Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Both matches will take place inside the Horne Activity Center. For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.
Snow College is coming off the first weekend of Scenic West Athletic Conference play. The Badgers went 7-10 in non-conference action to begin the season and squared off with the College of Southern Idaho and Salt Lake Community College to begin their conference schedule. They suffered 3-0 losses to both teams last weekend.
KNOW YOUR FOE: USUE enters Thursday's matchup with a 17-5 overall record and a 1-0 mark within SWAC play. The Eagles are currently riding a 13-game winning streak with their last loss coming Aug. 30 against No. 5 Northeastern Junior College.
The Eagles collected a trio of victories over ranked opponents in their final non-conference matchups of the season. They defeated No. 18 Mesa Community College (3-0), No. 14 Eastern Arizona College (3-1), and No. 16 Arizona Western College (3-1) at the Coyote Classic in Las Vegas Sept. 15-16. USUE defeated CNCC 3-0 to begin conference play last Wednesday in Price.
The Badgers were 2-1 against USUE last season. The two teams split their two meetings during the regular season, with both matches going five sets. They also were pitted against each other in the first round of the Region 18 Tournament in which the Eagles won in five sets.
CNCC is winless this season sporting an 0-14 overall record and an 0-1 mark within the SWAC. This comes after the Spartans went 0-16 during the 2022 season. The Spartan's last victory came against Western Wyoming Community College Oct. 25, 2021.
The Badgers have never lost to the Spartans going 28-0 since 2011. What's more, the Badgers have only dropped three total sets to the Spartans in the 28 lifetime meetings.
LAST TIME OUT: The Snow College women's volleyball team suffered a pair of losses against the College of Southern Idaho and Salt Lake Community College over the weekend. The Badgers fell in both matches 3-0.
Snow College entered the weekend coming off the Coyote Classic in which it went 1-3 to wrap up its non-conference schedule. Friday's matchup with the Golden Eagles marked the beginning of Scenic West Athletic Conference play.
Despite trailing early in the first set, the Badgers rallied to take a 15-14 lead. CSI responded with an 11-3 run to win the set 25-18. Snow College again jumped out to an 11-10 victory to begin the second set. The Golden Eagles responded with a 6-1 run and a 7-1 run to claim the set, 25-18.
Set three followed a similar path. Snow College won six of the first eight points before CSI won 10 of the next 12 points to take the lead. The Badgers were unable to recover and would drop the set 25-18.
The Badgers turned around to face SLCC the following day. The Bruins used a 7-1 run to win the first set 25-16. The Badgers jumped out to a 10-8 lead to begin the second set, but the Bruins won 10 straight points to turn the set on its head. They ended up running away with set two, 25-13.
It was a back-and-forth start to the third set, but SLCC went on an 11-1 run to take control. The Bruins would win six of the final eight points to win 25-14 and earn the three-set victory.
UP NEXT: The Badgers will continue its five-game home stand against the College of Southern Nevada.
The Coyotes are 5-8 overall this season and 0-2 within conference play. They have lost four out of their last five matchups including 3-0 losses to both CSI and SLCC last weekend. The Badgers won both matches against the Coyotes last season, both in three-set sweeps. The matchup is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 7 at 1:00 p.m. inside the Horne Activity Center. For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.
