Press Release
PRICE, UTAH –The Utah State Eastern volleyball team started its 2017 season with four wins at the Coyote Classic Tournament in Las Vegas on Friday and Saturday.
Eastern began its tournament on Friday against Sheridan and defeated the Generals, 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-15).
Freshman Mackenzie Carter led the team in kills with 10 against Sheridan. Freshman libero Megan Gurr had 17 digs, and sophomore Agatha Roese-Olsen finished the game with a team-high 32 assists.
Quickly after its first win, Eastern battled against Saddleback in a game that went five sets. Sophomore Sidney Springer led Eastern with 15 kills while tallying 18 digs and four service aces against Saddleback. After the game, Springer felt like the win against Saddleback did more than put a victory in the win column.
“Against Saddleback I felt like we grew the most,” Springer said. “We weren’t consistent throughout the game, but at the end in the fifth set we came together and got all the same page.”
Jensen was proud of the way her team fought through the quick turnaround to pick up the wins despite fatigue.
“We have a group of girls that refuse to lose and to back down. Even when they were getting tired in the fifth set against Saddleback, they refused to back down,” Jensen said.
Eastern continued its weekend with a morning match on Saturday where they swept Chandler-Gilbert Community College in three sets (25-22, 25-15, 25-15). Carter led Eastern in kills with 10 and in service aces with three. Freshman Sarah Mafi also had a strong offensive performance on the attack with eight kills.
In the final game of the weekend, USU Eastern had to take on nationally-ranked Arizona Western. Jensen kept her players focused and the energy up between matches to be ready for Arizona Western.
“Coach told us to keep our momentum, and in between games on Saturday we did team building activities to keep our energy up for Arizona Western,” said Gurr.
They defeated Arizona Western, 3-1 (25-21, 20-25, 25-20, 25-16), to close out the weekend undefeated. Springer led the team with 14 kills, and Roese-Olsen led the team with 37 assists against Arizona Western. Sophomore Jaelyn Olsen led the team on defense with seven blocks.
After returning home to Price, Jensen feels that the past weekend in Las Vegas was very important for her team going forward.
“It sets the tone for the rest of the season. Last year when we came in, we lost our first four. It’s tricky to keep the morale up with losses,” Jensen said.
USU Eastern continues its season and looks to improve in practice in the coming days in preparation for its upcoming tournament in Prescott, Arizona.
“We won four games, but we have a lot of work to do and room for improvement,” Jensen said.
Jensen’s team opens its two-day tournament in Prescott with a match against New Mexico Military.