USU Eastern Won Three at CSI, Then Went 1-3 at the Bruin Bash

USU Eastern volleyball left Twin Falls with the cleanest result of its young season: three matches, three wins, and no five-set escape required. The Eagles beat Western Nebraska Community College 3-1 on September 4, then swept Treasure Valley Community College and Central Wyoming College 3-0 on September 4 and 5 at the CSI Starr Corporation Invite.

USU Eastern Athletics' cumulative-statistics ledger lists a four-set win over Western Nebraska followed by three-set wins over Treasure Valley and Central Wyoming. It was the cleanest stretch of a season that had opened unevenly: the Eagles went 2-2 in their August opening tournament and 1-3 at Salt Lake Community College's Crystal Innvitational, twice losing in five sets.

The weekend that followed showed how little a three-match run settles in September. USU Eastern returned to Taylorsville for the Bruin Bash on September 11 and 12 and went 1-3.

The weekend began with a rematch

Western Nebraska was not a new opponent. USU Eastern's September 1 recap records a five-set loss to the Cougars at the Crystal Innvitational on August 29. Western Nebraska won the first two sets of that meeting, 25-23 and 25-10; the Eagles answered by taking the next two, 25-16 and 25-15, before the Cougars won the deciding set 15-12.

Six days later in Twin Falls, the Eagles reversed it. The cumulative ledger records a 3-1 USU Eastern win over Western Nebraska on September 4, and the team line from that match shows where the difference came from: 40 kills on 133 attempts for a .203 hitting percentage, against the .107 the Eagles managed in the five-set defeat six days earlier. The same opponent that won a fifth set in Taylorsville was beaten in four sets in Idaho.

Two sweeps followed

The Eagles then faced Treasure Valley Community College later on September 4. USU Eastern Athletics lists that match as a 3-0 win. The next day, September 5, the Eagles completed the tournament with another 3-0 result against Central Wyoming College.

Both sweeps were efficient. USU Eastern hit .229 against Treasure Valley and .305 against Central Wyoming, its best mark of the weekend. The preceding Crystal Innvitational had been a four-match test with no easy through line. USU Eastern lost 3-1 to Weatherford College, beat Central Wyoming 3-0, lost a five-set match to New Mexico Junior College, and lost another five-set match to Western Nebraska. The official September 1 recap identified Madelin Newbold's 13 kills and four blocks against Weatherford; Sela Christiansen and Presley Decker each had 10 kills in the Central Wyoming sweep; and Decker had 11 kills against New Mexico Junior College.

Those named performances come from the Crystal Innvitational; USU Eastern has published no individual box score for the CSI matches.

The cumulative team line through September 5 lists 423 kills on 1,315 attempts for a .198 hitting percentage, 372 assists, 53 service aces, 175 block assists and 631 digs across eleven matches.

The Bruin Bash did not extend the run

The streak ended at SLCC's Bruin Arena. USU Eastern lost to Miami Dade College 3-1 on September 11, lost to Odessa College 3-2 later the same day, then fell to Trinity Valley Community College 3-1 on September 12 before closing the tournament with a 3-0 win over Eastern Wyoming College.

Miami Dade had also been the Eagles' opening opponent of the season, a 3-0 defeat on August 21; the September 11 rematch went four sets. The Odessa result was USU Eastern's third five-set loss of the nonconference schedule, after New Mexico Junior College and Western Nebraska in August.

Scenic West play opened when Colorado Northwestern Community College visited the Bunnell-Dmitrich Athletic Center in Price on September 18 and 19, and the Eagles swept both matches 3-0. Three straight wins in Twin Falls and a 1-3 weekend in Taylorsville are the same team eight days apart, which is the useful thing to know before a conference schedule starts counting.

Key facts: USU Eastern at the CSI Starr Corporation Invite

• Tournament results: USU Eastern beat Western Nebraska Community College 3-1 on September 4, Treasure Valley Community College 3-0 on September 4, and Central Wyoming College 3-0 on September 5
• Rematch context: Western Nebraska beat the Eagles 3-2 at the Crystal Innvitational on August 29; USU Eastern won the CSI rematch in four sets
• Earlier Crystal Innvitational line: Weatherford beat USU Eastern 3-1; the Eagles swept Central Wyoming; New Mexico Junior College and Western Nebraska each won in five sets
• Published team totals through September 5: 423 kills, .198 hitting percentage, 372 assists, 53 aces, 175 block assists, and 631 digs
• Bruin Bash, September 11-12: USU Eastern went 1-3 — losses to Miami Dade (3-1), Odessa (3-2) and Trinity Valley (3-1), then a 3-0 win over Eastern Wyoming
• Conference opener: two 3-0 wins over Colorado Northwestern in Price on September 18 and 19; USU Eastern's schedule listed the Eagles 12-10 overall and 5-2 in the Scenic West as of October 9