April 18, 2024

Getting better and better

The tough competition in the SWAC makes every team battle for their hope of being in the rankings, and rough conference makes every single game mean a lot and count for everything.
Coming into the Eagles’ first home weekend, they knew that they had a tough weekend ahead of them facing off against two of the best teams they will see all year, but Paige Peterson adds, “we knew we had a lot in us to offer and felt that we could compete if we just played our game.”

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This archived article was written by: Kameron King

The tough competition in the SWAC makes every team battle for their hope of being in the rankings, and rough conference makes every single game mean a lot and count for everything.
Coming into the Eagles’ first home weekend, they knew that they had a tough weekend ahead of them facing off against two of the best teams they will see all year, but Paige Peterson adds, “we knew we had a lot in us to offer and felt that we could compete if we just played our game.”
The Eagles faced off against power-house College of Southern Idaho on Oct. 5, a nationally ranked opponent. CSI brings in amazing players and programs every year. USU Eastern women have been pushing themselves and preparing for this game all season. On Friday, the Eagles came out and showed everything they have and had amazing matches, but were topped by CSI, losing set one 25-20, set two 25-23 and set three 25-17.
Coach Chelsey Warburton said, “I am proud of how well my women came out and pushed themselves harder and harder each set, they matched their opponents level all night, but just had a couple little mistakes that cost us.”
On Saturday, Oct. 6, the Eagles had another tough opponent. Northern Idaho College Cardinals travelled to Price to play the USU Eagles on the BDAC floor.
The lady Eagles had a lot of momentum and hype with them from Friday night’s level of play. Northern Idaho is another tough opponent and always brings a good fight. NIC came out and had an amazing game against the Eagles, winning three sets to zero. Set one 25-18, set two 25-15, and set three 25-10.
On Oct. 13th, after two consecutive losses the weekend before, the Eagles women came out strong and showed Colorado Northwestern Community College that they had a lot to play for. CNCC had no answer for USU Eastern’s kills, nor passes. The Eagles put together many strong plays with great passes and good teamwork. Ending their losing streak with a big win over CNCC three sets to zero, set one 25-18, set two 25-8, and set three 25-15.
Warburton says, “We did not play at the same level at all against NIC, we had poor passing, our offense was off, and our blocking was not up to par as it usually is. In this conference every little mistake and every game is very crucial.”
As the season progresses USU Eastern’s women have come together as a unit and stepped up their game quite a bit. They get better and better each week. Warburton added, “I am very pleased with my women and how big their hearts are, some games don’t go our way, but my women have great work ethic and never give up know matter if things are going their way or not.”