OPENING SERVE: The Snow College volleyball team will start its second round of conference games against No. 8 Utah State University Eastern Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in the Horne Activity Center in Ephraim. The Badgers defeated the Eagles in their earlier matchup 3-1.
The Badgers are coming off a weekend where they dropped both of their games against North Idaho College, 3-2, and the College of Southern Idaho, 3-1.
KNOW YOUR FOE: USUE sits at a record of 15-5 with a 3-2 Scenic West Athletic Conference record. The Eagles are currently in second place in the SWAC behind No. 5 Salt Lake Community College.
The Badgers hold a 13-2 home record against the Eagles; their only two home losses came within the last two seasons.
The Badgers snapped their six-game losing streak to USUE two weeks ago when the Badgers went to Price and defeated the No. 7 Eagles 3-1. Snow College won the first set 25-23, dropped the second set 25-22, before they went on to win the third and fourth sets 25-21, 25-20.
LAST TIME OUT: The Badgers started the first set against NIC on the right foot, going up 16-8 by the midpoint. The Cardinals were able to claw it back to a 23-23 period before the Badgers closed out the set 26-24.
The second set started on a familiar footing for the Badgers as they took an early 6-1 lead before NIC came back to tie it at 6 apiece. This trend would continue with both teams going on runs to bring it to 24-24. The Badgers would go on to win four of the five overtime points to take the set 28-26.
Set three had both teams making runs to keep it close, and the set was tied at 14 by the midway point. The Cardinals went on a five-point run to take a 19-14 lead, and the Badgers couldn't respond. NIC took the third set 25-18.
The fourth set was a tightly-contested battle with both teams trading points. NIC was able to put together a pair of three-point runs, which were enough to close out the set, 25-23, and force a fifth set.
The final set started with NIC taking a 6-2 lead before the Badgers were able to find their footing. They were able to trim the NIC lead to just two points, 12-10.. The Cardinals won three of the next five points to close the set 15-12 and the match 3-2.
The first set Saturday started in favor of CSI, who got off to an 8-4 lead early. The Badgers were able to claw back, but CSI was able to carry the momentum the rest of the way and won the set 25-19
The second set saw both teams trading points with runs. Snow College was able to grab a slight 14-11 lead by the midpoint of the period. CSI and Snow College then traded points until the Golden Eagles went on a five-point run to make it 22-20. The Badgers responded, going on their own five-point run to close the set 25-22 and tie the match.
The penultimate set had the Golden Eagles go up early, 8-3. The Badgers were able to close the gap, but CSI kept its foot on the gas, going on a four-point run to take a 15-7 lead and were able to keep the Badgers at arm's length the rest of the way, winning the fourth set 25-20.
Set four opened with the Badgers going on an early run to take a 5-1 advantage, but it was downhill from there as CSI responded with its own 9-1 run to make the score 10-6. The Golden Eagles didn't look back and took the set 25-14 and the match 3-1.
Chloee Leslie led the Badgers in kills, tallying 17 over the weekend.
Avery Fowler recorded 46 digs, while
Ema Thompson handed out 48 assists.
UP NEXT: The Badgers will go back on the road to take on both Idaho schools. They will start with NIC Thursday at 7:00 p.m. MDT in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. The Badgers will then travel south to Twin Falls, Idaho, to take on CSI Oct. 25 at 1:00 p.m. MDT. For video streaming and live stats information, visit snowbadgers.com.
