USU Eastern Press Release
Utah State Eastern volleyball picked up its first home and conference win of the season Saturday with a 3-0 sweep over the Colorado Northwest Spartans.
Coming off last weekend’s losses to nationally ranked CSI and SLCC, the Eagles were hungry for a win. That showed in the opening set with a dominating 25-8 first set win.
“They came out ready to play and we were able to see improvement in areas we have been focusing on this week,” said USU Eastern head coach Danielle Jensen.
The Eagles capitalized on 13 Spartan turnovers and had 10 kills in the opening set.
In the second, set things got a little close but the Eagles pulled away toward the end to get the 25-17 set win.
Against CNCC on Saturday, all players that were healthy were able to get playing time and make contributions on the court.
“It was a pretty proud coaching moment for me tonight. To be able to have each girl that was able to play and then see the excitement the team had for one another, it was special,” said Jensen.
During the final set, the Eagles got another 25-8 set win to wrap up the game against the Spartans.
“We definitely needed the win and our fans needed it, so it was great to get the win tonight,” said USU Eastern sophomore Sarah Mafi.
As a team, the Eagles had only 14 errors, which was a major improvement from last weekend’s losses.
“That is something the girls have been working so hard on. If we are going to win some big games, we have to keep our errors to a minimum,” said Jensen.
Mafi led the Eagles in kills, blocks and digs with 10, five and 10 respectively.
Sophomore Mackenzie Carter had another all around good game for the Eagles by finishing with seven kills, three aces and six digs.
“She stepped up so much the past few games and she has really led our team,” said Mafi.
Both Mafi and Jensen believe that getting the win Saturday will help them in the next few weeks of road games against very good Region 18 teams.
The Eagles will have almost four weeks of road games before playing their final home games of the regular season at the end of October.
“It’s always hard to play on the road and we will miss the support we feel when we are home. But, we are ready to play ball and see how we play the next few weeks,” said Jensen.
USU Eastern will head to Las Vegas on Thursday for a night game against the College of Southern Nevada. Two days later, they will take on nationally-ranked Snow College in Ephraim at 1 p.m.
Saturday’s win over CNCC gives the Eagles their tenth win of the season. They have hit double digit wins for the fourth-straight season, with three of those seasons under Coach Jensen.