SLCC Volleyball to Close Regular Season with Pair of SWAC Road Matches
Bruins can clinch outright SWAC championship with one road victory this weekend
SALT LAKE CITY, UT—The
No. 7-ranked SLCC Volleyball team (20-6, 8-0 SWAC) will close the 2013 regular season with a pair of away games this weekend. The Bruins will face Colorado Northwestern Community College (CNCC) (3-24, 0-8 SWAC) on Friday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. in Rangeley, CO.
SLCC will play its final regular season contest in Price, UT on Saturday, Nov. 2 against in-state opponent USU-Eastern (6-17, 2-6 SWAC) with first serve slated for 1 p.m. SLCC swept USU-Eastern
3-0 in its Scenic West Athletic Conference (SWAC) home opener on Oct. 11 and eased past CNCC
3-0 on Oct. 12 at Bruin Arena.
With one win in either of this weekend's matches, SLCC can clinch the outright SWAC championship for the first time since 2009. SLCC can also clinch the conference crown if
No. 8 College of Southern Idaho (CSI) (20-8, 7-2 SWAC) loses on the road at
No. 16 North Idaho College (NIC) (12-9, 5-4 SWAC) this Friday night in Coeur d'Alene, ID.
SLCC has won three straight contests and remains the only SWAC team without a loss in conference action. With a sweep of this weekend's games, the Bruins can secure an unbeaten 10-0 SWAC record for the second time in program history and first time since the 2007 season.
Match Coverage: No live audio or video will be available for the SLCC match vs. CNCC on Friday. Saturday's regular season finale matchup with USU-Eastern will be streamed live on the Golden Eagles' iHigh.com Web channel at
www.ihigh.com/usueastern.
The Clincher: SLCC clinched hosting rights for the 2013 Region 18 Volleyball Championships on Nov. 8-9 by defeating SWAC rival CSI
3-2 on Saturday at Bruin Arena.
All six teams in the SWAC will compete in the Region 18 Tournament with a single elimination format. The Region 18 champion and the tournament runner-up will earn automatic bids to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Tournament in Casper, WY.
Four teams from the SWAC are currently ranked in the NJCAA Top 20. SLCC is the SWAC's highest-ranked team at
No. 7, followed by
No. 8 CSI,
No. 16 North Idaho College (12-9, 5-4 SWAC) and
No. 18 Snow College (15-9, 3-5 SWAC). A new NJCAA Top 20 poll will be released on Wednesday.
Bruins By-the-Numbers: SLCC freshman outside hitter
Carol Grasso leads the Bruins and the SWAC in total kills with 391. The Sao Paulo, Brazil native has the most service aces of any player in the SWAC with 41 and is second on the team in digs with 320.
Sophomore outside hitter
Bailee Kendall (Mt. Pleasant, UT) is second on the squad in kills with 338. The North Sanpete High School graduate is tied with sophomore middle hitter
Janessa Koelliker (Kaysville, UT) in solo blocks with 11.
Bruin sophomore setter
Baylie Henrie (Kaysville, UT) leads the team in assists with 790 and ranks second in the SWAC in that category. Sophomore libero (defensive specialist)
Indigo Allen (North Salt Lake, UT) leads the team with 356 digs through 26 matches.
As a team, SLCC has outscored its opposition 1290-947 with a team attacking percentage of .228. The Bruins are averaging 12.6 kills, 11.9 assists and 2.1 blocks per set so far this season.
