Phoenix, Arizona - The Thunderbird volleyball team improved their record to 7–1 Friday afternoon with a sweep of the Niagara Purple Eagles 3–0 (25–17, 25–10, 25–13) in their first match of the Grand Canyon Tournament.

Thunderbird opposite hitter Ann Clappier said the result of the match reflected the effort they gave on the court.

“Our team played hard today and the game showed it,” she said. “It was a great match and our team served aggressive and smart which helped us to pull out the win.”

The Thunderbirds started the first set on an 11–4 run, but the Purple Eagles stormed back to make it 16–14. After that point SUU went on a 4–0 run, to create some separation and kept Niagara at bay to take the set 25–17.  

The second set started as a back-and-forth affair, but with the score at 9–8 in favor of SUU, the Thunderbirds started dominating the set and went on a 16–2 run to take the set 25–10.

The third and final set went the Thunderbirds way 25–13, after jumping out to an early lead, and pulling away with a 5–0 run with the score at 15–9.

Madi Forsythe continues to lead the Thunderbird charge this season, as she finished with 12 kills in the match to lead the team. Faith Ma'afala and McKenzie Nicol split time at setter and both finished with 12.

The Purple Eagles finished the match with the same number of kills and attacking errors (24), leaving them with a .000 hitting percentage. SUU finished with 31 kills as a team and a .338 hitting percentage.  

Tournament play will continue Saturday with a match against Gonzaga at 2 p.m. and Charleston Southern at 8 p.m. Updates can be followed on Twitter @SUUThunderbirds.