TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (October 4, 2017) – A thrilling sweep of one of the nation's best has left the Salt Lake Community College Volleyball program with a ballooning aura of confidence, with the program suddenly catapulted back into contention in the Scenic West Athletic Conference.

Yes, a 3-0 sweep of second-ranked College of Southern Idaho certainly lifted the Bruins to a spot of prominence, catapulting their national ranking up with the win. However, now it is on Salt Lake to prove itself on the road in SWAC play, with two matches on the schedule for this week.

The win over CSI, and the dominant fashion in which it happened, certainly have reinforced the principles and fundamentals SLCC coach Sue Dulaney and her staff have preached since the first day of camp, the veteran coach said.

"We want our team firing on all cylinders by the time we get to regions," she said. "We haven't had that yet, which is okay. We have had individual players have peak performance matches but nothing consistent."

This week will be a good test for the Bruins, as they travel to in-state rival USU-Eastern and then to Colorado Northwestern for a Friday night-Saturday afternoon doubleheader. The Bruins are 6-2 in matches played away from Bruin Arena this season, with Friday's match in Price serving as the program's first true road contest of the 2017 season.

As for scouting this week's opponents, USU-Eastern enters play this week at 15-4 overall and 2-1 in SWAC play – virtually identical records to Salt Lake's marks. The Golden Eagles earned wins over both Colorado Northwestern and College of Southern Nevada before falling at Snow College, 3-1, in its last match.

The Colorado Northwestern Spartans enter this week's SWAC action at 1-2. The Spartans earned a win over College of Southern Nevada, after losing to USU-Eastern and Snow to start the league slate.

Dulaney said the Bruins will have to be prepared for several scenarios during this week's series of tough opponents and arduous travel.

"We know (our program) will get there (to where we need to be), " she said. "Friday night proved the process if working. We are focused and hungry, ready for the last half of conference play."

The Snow College Badgers lead the league at 3-1, while SLCC, Southern Idaho and USU-Eastern are right behind at 2-1. Colorado Northwestern falls in behind at 1-2, while the College of Southern Nevada Coyotes are still searching for their first league win.

Friday's match for SLCC at USU-Eastern is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., while Saturday's match is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. in Rangely. Recaps after each match will be available at slccbruins.com.