Matadors Volleyball stumbles in district final, losing 3-0 to Utah State Eastern

YUMA, Ariz. – The No. 18-ranked Arizona Western Matadors Volleyball team (18-9) lost 3-0 in the Rocky Mountain A District Final to No. 6-ranked Utah State Eastern (23-6) on Monday evening in Price, Utah, at Bunnell-Dmitrich Athletic Center.

Larrynn Joseph-Rodrigues led the Matadors in kills with six while Nehir Erimez guided the offense with 14 assists in the loss.

Utah State Eastern put together an early 3-0 run to take an 8-4 lead in the first set, forcing an Arizona Western timeout. The Golden Eagles came out of the timeout and stretched the run to 8-0 and took a 13-5 lead. Utah State Eastern pulled away to take the first set 25-15.

The Matadors opened up a 16-12 lead in the second set before the Golden Eagles put together a run, scoring five consecutive points to take a 17-16 lead.  Arizona Western held a 22-20 lead before the Golden Eagles closed the second set on a 5-0 run to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Arizona Western fell behind early in the third and final set and never could recover, being held to just 10 points in a 25-10 loss to finish the match.

Gabriella Martensson led a trio of Matadors in double-figures in digs with 13 while Esther Asiedu had a team-high five total blocks.

The Matadors finished the season with an 18-9 record, playing in their third district final in the last four seasons.