OPENING SERVE: The Snow College volleyball team will continue home conference play Wednesday against No. 7 Utah State University Eastern. The match will begin at 6 p.m. inside the Horne Activity Center in Ephraim, Utah.

The Badgers are coming off two victories against Colorado Northwestern Community College and Salt Lake Community College, which was ranked eighth in the nation at the time of the match. The Badgers claimed both victories in three sets to win their first two conference games of the season. 

KNOW YOUR FOE: The Badgers are 25-9 against the Eagles historically, but have dropped each of the last three matchups. Snow College is 13-1 against USUE when playing in Ephraim, Utah, with the only home loss occurring last season. 

The Eagles are 13-5 overall for the 2024 season on a current five-game win streak, sweeping all five matches. The Eagles last loss took place against No. 6 Northeastern Junior College (3-2) Sept. 13. 

The Eagles also faced the Spartans and Bruins last weekend sweeping both matches 3-0. USUE jumped up three spots in the NJCAA Top 20 Poll after the two victories.

LAST TIME OUT: The Snow College volleyball team swept its first conference weekend against Colorado Northwest Community College (3-0) and No. 8 Salt Lake Community College (3-0). The Badgers entered the weekend with an 8-5 overall record.

The Badgers were coming off of a 3-2 defeat against Western Wyoming Community College Sept. 18. The Badgers previously defeated WWCC 3-0 in an earlier match this year in the Starr Corporation Invitational.

The Badgers swept the Spartans in three quick sets winning them 25-12, 25-10, and 25-18. 

The first set stayed close with only a few points difference in favor of the Badgers. The Badgers then went on an eight-point run to distance themselves from the Spartans to go up 23-11 before winning the set, 25-12.

The second set started out close with the Badgers leading 5-4 before a quick four-point burst to go up 9-4. Snow College kept CNCC at arms length with at least a five-point lead for the remainder of the set, before claiming the second set 25-10.

The third set was looking like the previous two with a Badger lead of 21-13. However, the Spartans went on a four-point run to pull the game to within four before the Badgers went on to win the set 25-18.

The Badgers had a total of 44 kills against the Spartans, while limiting them to 18 kills in total. Snow College is now 31-0 against CNCC historically, dropping only three total sets in its 13-year history.

The Badgers also swept the Bruins in three sets on Saturday. Snow College claimed victories of 25-21, 25-17, and 25-14. 

The Badgers dropped the first point to the Bruins before going on a five-point run to lead 5-1 early. The Bruins answered back with three straight points, before the score went back-and-forth and was knotted at 16 midway through the set. The Badgers went on another five-point run to go up 21-16 before claiming the first set 25-21.

The second set was tight up until the Badgers went on a five-point run to go up 19-13. The Badgers kept the Bruins out of reach to win the second set 25-17.

The third set was tied at 4 before the Badgers went on another five-point run to take the lead. The Badgers limited the Bruins to a maximum of two-point runs to go up 22-14. Snow College took the final three points to sweep the Bruins 3-0.

The Badgers outscored the Bruins 75-52 across the three-set match. This was the first volleyball win over SLCC since 2021.

Liv Marshall led the Badgers offensively with 17 kills with Stefania Scomazzon close behind with 15 over the weekend. Grace Holley led the defense for the Badgers with 25 digs, Aspen Anderson and Liv Marshall both had 22 digs. Kinley Kerbs led in assists with 34 over the two games.

UP NEXT: The Badgers will go on the road and face off against the College of Southern Idaho Thursday Oct. 10. The match will begin at 6 p.m. in Twins Falls, Idaho. Following Thursday's matchup, the Badgers will visit North Idaho College Saturday Oct. 12. Saturday's match will take place in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.