EPHRAIM—The No. 4 nationally ranked Snow College Volleyball team started out the Scenic West Athletic Conference season with an exciting come from behind victory over No. 9 Utah State Eastern, 3-1 and then beat Colorado Northwestern, 3-0.
The Badgers started out slow losing the first set 25-23, but then coming back to win the next three sets 25-22, 25-22 and 25-21. Snow College and USU-E have had one of the most intense rivalries in the SWAC in recent years. Both teams have been very competitive and both teams went to the national tournament this past spring.
“Competition between these two teams started years before the matchup on Thursday,” said Coach Michael Daniel. “USU-E came out with some incredible defense, limiting one of the strongest teams in the country to only four kills. Nerves might’ve played a factor as well with this being our first home game of the season.”
Snow College quickly composed themselves and led the Badgers to winning the next three sets. Freshman outside hitter Bailee Rasmussen came off the bench in game two contributing 12 kills hitting .241, and also digging seven balls. Middle blocker KJ String had 12 kills and hit an incredible .417. Defensive specialist Hailee Oldroyd led the team with 18 digs.
“We’re lucky to have the middles that we have,” said Daniel. “Both played great. KJ had a great offensive night and Kara Clayton played great defense. It takes both sides of the net to win against quality opponents.”
Sophomore Macy Short had 41 assists, 11 digs and two blocks.
“Macy is a leader by example and a great captain on the court,” said Daniel. “It’s pretty rare to have a setter get as many kills as the hitters she is setting.”
Snow College had an easier time in the wins on Saturday defeating CNCC in three straight sets.
“I’ve seen CNCC play for many years,” said Daniel. “This is a team to be respected and has some very high level players from Utah and the region.”
The Badgers freshmen are quickly making a name for themselves and contributing to the Snow College success.
“It’s exciting to see how strong our freshmen are,” said Daniel. “We literally have players that can come in at any time and make a big impact on the floor. I think that was evident in the win on Thursday against USU-E.”
The Badgers will be at home again on Saturday as they host the College of Southern Nevada at 1 p.m. in the Horne Activity Center.
