Snows volleyball ends season ranked 8th in the country
Matt Harris
Staff writer
11-3-2016
EPHRAIM—The Snow College volleyball team now ranks No. 8 in the country after the final NJCAA poll of the regular season was released last week, and looks to keep it going in Twin Falls, Idaho.
The Lady Badgers closed out season play by capping off a three-game win streak against a scrappy team in Southern Nevada, winning in five sets 27-25, 25-20, 21-25, 17-25, 15-5.
Snow looked to be upset when they dropped sets three and four but fought back in the fifth set to seal the win.
The victory gave the Lady Badgers a 19-8 overall record to end the regular season.
“Compared to where we started a few months ago, I think it’s safe to say we’ve come a long way,” head coach Jeff Reynolds said. “We’ve had some magical moments during the regular season, but that’s all behind us now as we focus on trying to win the conference tournament. That’s the next thing we are determined to accomplish.”
Now, the Lady Badgers prepare for the Scenic West Athletic Conference championship tournament beginning this week in Twin Falls. They hold the No. 3 seed in the tournament and are the highest seed playing in the first round. Southern Idaho and Salt Lake, holder of respective 1 and 2-seeds, each has a first-round bye.
Snow will begin tournament play against bottom-seeded Colorado Northwestern. Provided they win that game they will face Salt Lake. Winning that game will ensure them a spot in the championship against the winner of USU-Eastern or CSN vs. Southern Idaho.
“For as long as anyone can remember, Snow has been unable to advance past the semifinals of the conference tournament,” Reynolds said. “This year, I think we’re prepared. As long as we stay focused and control the net in each of our matches, we’ll be in pretty good shape. We know what we have to do. Now, we just have to go out and do it. We know we can play with the top teams in the league. Now, we have to prove it.”
Despite being a top-10 team, the Lady Badgers statistics are quite humbling, as they do not break even the top 20 in any category. This doesn’t concern Reynolds.
“It says a lot about our tough schedule,” Reynolds said. “We don’t get to just beat up on anybody.”
However, sophomore Sydnie Martindale has been an anchor for the Snow defense this season and has been awarded SWAC Defensive Player of the Week honors four times during the season.
The Lady Badgers’ first tournament game against CNCC will take place on Friday at 10 a.m.
