VB fights to go up in rankings
The whistle bows and the slap of the ball initiates the play. For 13 straight months, eight months at the USUE campus and six months previous to the arrival of the team, the team pushed to create a title for themselves and their community.
They worked together keeping each other accountable throughout this time period. And here it is, the peak of their season has finally arrived. They have one match away in Las Vegas, Nevada, and three left home before the Region 18 Tournament.
The Eagles faced College of Southern Idaho beating them 3-1 and Colorado Northwestern Community College 3-0 during the last two weeks.
The Eagles also faced Salt Lake Community College and lost 3-1. The Eagles lost their streak of 14-consecutive wins and dropped to fourth in the NJCAA rankings from second the week before. This was a learning experience for the team.
Alyssa Simmons said, “this loss, as bad as it stung, could have been the best thing that could have happened. It reminded us of a few critical principles our team is built on. We have such a great foundation, I am excited to continually build upon it and keep playing such great teams on a competitive level and finish what we started.”
Emma Ricks said, “rent is due each month just like we have to ‘pay’ by working each match to come up on top. We respect the competition and it is important to earn everything we head into. It is all about the work, and I think that is what makes this season so rewarding.”
The Eagles continue to push. This week saw them traveling to Las Vegas to play College of Southern Nevada on March 10. They barely lost to Salt Lake Community College in the fifth set.
On March 12, the Eagles head to Ephraim and play Snow for the fourth time.
Right now USU Eastern, Snow and SLCC are all tied for first in the region. Many hope that USU Eastern can take Snow off the list by giving them their second loss of the season and their fourth consecutive loss from USU Eastern, including a pre-season loss.
Sydney Mazych said, “this will be one of the most exciting games coming up, because this time we are going to play Snow in their own gym. We are going to fight and give every thing we possibly have on that court. We love this school and are excited to fight with the name Utah State University Eastern across our back. It should be pretty awesome.”
The SWAC conference is one of the toughest conferences in the nation and the Eagles must continually work hard. This is an interesting point in the season, and fans cannot wait to watch this week to see what happens.
Chelsee Greenwood said, “we must earn everything down to each point because everyone is good, we need to push to be great. I think a lot of the work we are putting in is starting to become visible. It’s a good time.”
Kennedy Poulton added, “this is it, this isn’t a practice round, or me imaging what life would be like as a collegian volleyball player. This is it, this is reality. It’s time to fight and give everything we have, because pain is temporary and memories are forever. I have had a blast this year and am so excited for it to continue.”
Utah State University Eastern, has done well thus far. They are preparing for
their next big step into the tournament and they continually developing their skills to
hopefully go all the way at Nationals. The games start at six, tune into Blue Frame to
support these Lady Eagles.
