Snow College Athletics

The No. 14 Snow College women's volleyball team split a two-match series against Utah State University Eastern over the weekend. The Badgers fell 3-2 Friday before responding with a 3-0 victory Saturday.

Saturday marked Head Coach Michael Daniels' 100th victory at Snow College, reaching the milestone in his sixth season with the program. Daniels now holds a 100-67 record at Snow College.

With the split, Snow College moves to 4-2 in Scenic West Athletic Conference play and 14-7 overall. USUE entered the weekend with a 10-9 overall record and a 3-1 mark in conference play. The Badgers opened the series with a five-set battle against the Eagles. Snow College took the first two sets 25-21 and 25-21 before USUE responded with a 27-25 victory in the third set and a 25-11 win in the fourth. The Eagles went on to take the deciding fifth set 15-12.

The Eagles took an early 2-0 lead in the opening set Friday, but the Badgers responded with eight consecutive points to take an 8-2 advantage. Snow College continued to extend its lead, building a 22-14 advantage before USUE answered with five straight points to cut the deficit to 22-19. The Badgers held on to take the opening set 25-21.

The second set followed a similar pattern, with the Eagles taking an early 5-1 lead and extending it to 8-4. The Badgers responded with five consecutive points to take a 9-8 advantage. The teams continued to battle closely throughout the set, trading leads before Snow College pulled away late to take the set 25-21.

Snow College held the lead for much of the third set before USUE tied the score at 17. The Badgers responded with kills from Hallie Layton, Lily Grant and Aleah McDaniel to take a 22-19 lead. The Eagles answered with four straight points to take a 23-22 advantage. The teams battled to a 25-25 tie before USUE scored the final two points to take the set 27-25, capitalizing on Badger errors.

The Eagles carried their momentum into the fourth set, taking an early 6-1 lead and extending the advantage to 18-7. USUE maintained control through the remainder of the set, earning a 25-11 victory to force a deciding fifth set.

The teams battled closely in the final set, with Snow College holding an 8-7 lead before the Eagles responded to take a two-point advantage. The Badgers stayed within striking distance, cutting the deficit to 13-12, but USUE scored the final two points to take the set 15-12 and secure the 3-2 victory.

Aleah McDaniel led the Badgers with 12 kills, while Hallie Layton and Marli Vaea each recorded nine. Lily Grant finished with 24 assists, while Britani Stone led the team with 19 digs. The Badgers also recorded 11 blocks and eight aces. Layton and Sydney Short each recorded three aces, while Madelyn Neibaur led Snow College with five blocks.

Saturday, The Badgers took control early in the opening set, building a 7-1 lead before extending the advantage to 13-6. Snow College continued to control the set, taking a 20-9 lead before closing out the set with two kills from Layton to take the opening frame 25-16.

Snow College continued its momentum in the second set, the score remained close, at 10-10 until the badgers scored 15 of the next 17 points to close out the set 25-12.

The Badgers took control early again in the third set, jumping out to an 8-1 lead behind kills from Aleah McDaniel and service aces from Hallie Layton. The Badgers extended their advantage to 15-8, then 19-11 before the Eagles answered with five straight points to pull within three. But Snow College closed out the set by scoring six of the final seven points, including three straight kills from McDaniel, to take the set 25-17, completing the 3-0 sweep.

McDaniel led Snow College with 14 kills, while Neibaur and Layton each added five. Grant recorded 16 assists, while Saidey Spencer finished with 13. Halle Smith led the Badgers with 11 digs. Snow College also recorded 11 blocks and nine aces. Layton led the Badgers with four aces, while Neibaur and Emily Kenison each recorded five blocks.

Throughout Head Coach Michael Daniels' career at Snow College, he has built a successful program, highlighted by a District Coach of the Year honor in the 2025 season. That season, he led the Badgers to a Rocky Mountain District championship and an eighth-place finish at the NJCAA National Tournament, while Snow College also finished as the runner-up in the Region 18 Tournament. In his first season with the Badgers, Daniels led the team to a Region 18 championship and a seventh-place finish at the NJCAA National Tournament. In 2024, he led Snow College to runner-up finishes in both the Rocky Mountain District Championship and the Region 18 Tournament. His overall record at Snow College now stands at 100-67, with the remainder of the season still ahead.

The Badgers will travel to Twin Falls, Idaho, to face No.11 College of Southern Idaho Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at noon. For video streaming and live stats information, visit snowbadgers.com.