- On back-to-back road weekends, USU Eastern volleyball answered a sweep at No. 12 College of Southern Idaho with a 3-1 win the next day, then rallied from two sets down to beat No. 12 Snow College. The Eagles are 11-10 and 4-2 in the Scenic West.
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October 5, 2026
October 5, 2026
4 min / 878 words
9 official links
USU Eastern volleyball spent two straight weekends on the road against nationally ranked Scenic West opponents and came home from each with a win. At No. 12 College of Southern Idaho, the Eagles were swept on Friday, September 25, then won 3-1 the next day. At No. 12 Snow College on October 2, they lost the first two sets and won the next three, 27-25, 25-11 and 15-12. Snow swept the rematch on October 3, leaving USU Eastern 11-10 overall and 4-2 in the conference, in a three-way tie for third with Snow and North Idaho, according to USU Eastern's recap.
USU Eastern's recaps listed CSI and Snow at No. 12 when the teams met, and the Eagles themselves were ranked No. 20 in the preseason. The USU Eastern volleyball team page has the latest results, upcoming fixtures and a link to the official schedule.
How did USU Eastern beat CSI?
The first night in Twin Falls went to the Golden Eagles, 25-15, 25-13, 25-17. Sophomore outside hitter Sela Christiansen led USU Eastern with six kills, and sophomore Madelin Newbold added five in her return from injury.
The rematch was a different match from the first point. CSI won a long opening set 29-27, and USU Eastern took the next three, 25-14, 25-21 and 26-24. Christiansen, from Blackfoot, Idaho, led the attack again with 13 kills and also had a team-high 16 digs, according to the box score. Freshman libero Kielana Gasu, from West Jordan and Copper Hills High School, added 15 digs, and freshman setter Staša Lakovic, from Podgorica, Montenegro, had 27 assists and two aces.
The difference was at the net. Freshman middle blockers Selah Nickel and Alivia Manning had five blocks each, and USU Eastern out-blocked CSI 12 to 5. Manning also hit .636, with seven kills on 11 attempts, and freshman Maria Jose Martinez and freshman Presley Decker had nine kills each. USU Eastern's recap said the Eagles forced 29 Southern Idaho errors.
Under the new Scenic West schedule, those two days in Twin Falls are the only scheduled meetings between the two teams this season, the recap said, so the Eagles left with a split of the regular-season series.
The comeback at Snow
A week later USU Eastern played at Snow College's Horne Activity Center in Ephraim. Snow won the first two sets 25-21 and 25-21. Facing elimination, the Eagles won a tight third set 27-25, ran away with the fourth 25-11 and closed the fifth 15-12.
Manning, a freshman from Eagle, Idaho, controlled the match. She finished with 11 kills and 10 blocks, three of them solo, and USU Eastern's recap said she "led a strong defensive performance." Nickel, from Celina, Texas, added nine blocks, and the Eagles out-blocked Snow 19 to 11. Gasu dug 22 balls, Newbold had nine kills and five blocks, Decker had nine kills, and setters Kylie Christiansen and Lakovic shared the assists with 19 and 16. USU Eastern hit .440 in the fourth set, according to the box score.
Snow answered on October 3 with a 25-16, 25-12, 25-17 sweep. Newbold led the Eagles with six kills, and USU Eastern's recap counted 21 errors in that match.
A young roster with Utah roots
Head coach Alyssa Fitch, a former USU Eastern player and assistant, was hired to lead the program in July 2025. Her 14-player roster leans young: of the players named above, only Sela Christiansen and Newbold are sophomores. Gasu (West Jordan), Newbold (Draper) and Decker (St. George) are among the Utahns on the roster, while Lakovic (Podgorica, Montenegro) and Martinez (Chía, Colombia) list hometowns abroad.
The Eagles also had earlier wins over ranked teams this season. At the NMMI Classic in Roswell, New Mexico, in August they beat No. 10 Eastern Arizona 3-0 and No. 11 Casper 3-1, as USU Eastern's recap ranked them. Read more about the program on our USU Eastern school page.
What is USU Eastern volleyball's record?
USU Eastern is 11-10 overall and 4-2 in the Scenic West through October 3: 2-0 against Colorado Northwestern, 1-1 against CSI and 1-1 against Snow. Its non-conference losses include two to Miami Dade, which USU Eastern's recaps listed as No. 1.
When does USU Eastern play next?
The Eagles return home to the Bunnell-Dmitrich Athletic Center in Price to host North Idaho on Friday, October 9, at 6 p.m. and Saturday, October 10, at noon, then play at Truckee Meadows on October 23 and 24 and host Salt Lake Community College on October 30 and 31. The Region 18 tournament is scheduled for November 4 and 5. For more Utah college and pro fixtures, see Utah sports today.
Key facts:
- Record: 11-10 overall, 4-2 Scenic West (through Oct. 3, 2026)
- At No. 12 CSI: lost 3-0 on Sept. 25; won 3-1 on Sept. 26 (27-29, 25-14, 25-21, 26-24)
- Sela Christiansen vs. CSI: 13 kills and 16 digs
- At No. 12 Snow: won 3-2 on Oct. 2 after trailing 0-2 (21-25, 21-25, 27-25, 25-11, 15-12); lost 3-0 on Oct. 3
- Alivia Manning vs. Snow: 11 kills and 10 blocks
- Team blocks: 12-5 vs. CSI on Sept. 26; 19-11 vs. Snow on Oct. 2
- Head coach: Alyssa Fitch, hired July 2025
- Next: North Idaho at home in Price, Oct. 9 (6 p.m.) and Oct. 10 (noon)
