The Snow College volleyball team split its Scenic West Athletic Conference opening weekend, falling 3-2 to No. 6 Salt Lake Community College in heartbreaking fashion in Taylorsville. The Badgers then traveled to Rangely, Colorado, to take on Colorado Northwestern Community College, where they picked up a decisive 3-0 victory. 

The Badgers are coming off the Canyon View Intermountain Invite, where they went 0-4, suffering losses to No. 10 Trinity Valley Community College, 3-0, and No. 1 Miami Dade College, 3-1.

The Badgers opened the first set strongly, going on a 7-3 run, but the Bruins weren't staying down for long as they stormed back to a commanding 20-10 lead and didn't look back, closing the first set 25-17. 

In the second set, neither team could get a firm grasp on the lead, with it constantly flipping between the two sides and never getting more than a two-point lead for either team. The Badgers were able to pull away at the end, closing out the second set 25-21. 

The third set was a thriller that saw both teams trading runs. The Bruins went on a 10-4 run to take a 20-13 lead before the Badgers started a run of their own to bring the score back to a favorable 23-22 lead. The climax of the set saw each side trading points for 11 extra rallies, bringing the final score to 31-29 for the Badgers, where they went up 2-1 in sets. 

SLCC kept the beginning of the penultimate set close with the Badgers. Neither team was able to find a solid lead until the Bruins went on a 6-1 run to take a 15-10 lead in the middle of the set. The Bruins were able to hold on and close out the fourth set 25-17 to force a fifth and final set. 

The final set was a nail-biter between these two squads. It followed similar trends to the previous sets as neither team was able to get a strong hold on the lead. The Bruins were able to get the score to 10-6 before the Badgers came roaring back, knotting the game at 13-13 off an unanswered four-point run. SLCC was able to stop the bleeding and find the final two points of the match, winning the final set 15-13 and the match 3-2. 

After the loss, the Badgers made their way to take on CNCC, which they defeated in three sets, 25-9, 25-15, 25-15. The Badgers now move to 33-0 all-time against the Spartans. 

The Badgers started the first set slowly, getting to an 8-5 lead before going on a 17-4 run to close out the set in convincing fashion. 

In the second set, the Badgers got off to a commanding 8-2 lead before the Spartans were able to claw the match back to a two-point deficit at 8-6. It wasn't enough as the Badgers were able to regain their footing, cruising to a 25-15 win. 
The third set started close, with both teams trading points and Snow College holding a slight 8-7 advantage early. They then strung together a pair of four-point runs and a five-point run to pull away from CNCC, winning the third and final set 25-15.  

Snow College recorded 90 kills over the two games, with Hallie Layton leading the way with 21. The Badgers were led by Avery Fowler with 19 digs, and Ema Thompson finished with 48 assists over the two games. 

The Badgers will head to Price to take on No. 7 Utah State University Eastern Saturday at 1:00 p.m. The Eagles are 13-4 on the year, splitting their first two conference matches with a win over CNCC (3-0) and suffering a loss to SLCC (3-1). For video streaming and live stats information, visit snowbadgers.com.