Lady Badgers start early season with a roar with 9-1 record
By James Tilson
Sports Editor
9/4/2019
The Snow College volleyball team has come out to a roaring start to the 2019 season, with a No. 11 national ranking and a 9-1 record through the first two weeks of the season.
“At the junior college level, it’s really difficult to build off of a previous year’s success,” said Coach Jeff Reynolds. “We have nine new players on a 15-person roster, and that’s a situation we work to manage every year.”
After making it to the NJCAA national volleyball championship tournament last year, the Badgers were determined to put together a challenging schedule this year. Snow will face seven nationally-ranked teams this season, including the No. 1 ranked Southern Idaho Golden Eagles in their own region.
“After making it to the national championship tournament last year, it was clear that we needed to prepare better for that tournament by playing the teams we could likely face if we were to make it again this year,” said Reynolds. “As a result, I’m not sure there will be an easy game for us this season. There is such great talent in every event we’re scheduled to play in this year, as well as within our own region. To say we have our work cut out for us would be a bit of an understatement.”
So far, however, the Badgers have risen to the challenge quite admirably. After ten games, the Badgers have earned a 9-1 record, only recording their first loss last weekend to No. 13 ranked New Mexico Military Institute at the Dalton Overstreet Invitational in Prescott, Ariz. But in the same tournament, the Badgers recorded wins over No. 20 Arizona Western College and No. 9 Laramie County.
“It wasn’t a perfect game, and we had our share of mistakes, but I’m really pleased with the way our team rebounded today and picked up a solid win over Laramie,” Reynolds said after the tournament. “Overall, I’m pleased with the weekend. I think we learned some things after the NMMI match on Friday, and I’m excited to see what we can accomplish moving forward.”
This week, the Badgers travel to Twin Falls, Idaho to take part in the Starr Corp. Invitational. They will face Casper College and Missouri West Plains on Friday, and then No. 2 Miami-Dade and Treasure Valley on Saturday.
