CEDAR CITY, UT - The Thunderbirds kicked off their 2017 home schedule against the Utah Valley Wolverines on Tuesday inside the Centrum Arena. Despite the loss, it was an exciting match for both teams. Macky Fifita and Janet Kalaniuvalu put up a strong offensive performance at the net, and the Thunderbirds as a whole played some strong defense as well, and look more poised to move into conference play in a couple weeks.

The first set started out neck and neck for both teams as they each tried to establish themselves and their game plan for the match. About halfway before the set, the Wolverines started to take charge and pull away. An impressive .323 hitting percentage from the Wolverines eventually proved too much for Southern Utah and they won the set 25-18.

The second set was mostly owned by the Wolverines. Winning 16 points off of kills and only losing five to errors they were hard to stop. Southern Utah eventually succumbed in this set, falling 25-15.

The third was a treat to watch for any volleyball fan. There were some incredible rallies that even with vicious net play from both teams took a long time to end thanks to some remarkable digs. There were plenty of other plays showing off these players' athleticism and quick thinking. Partway into the set, Utah Valley gained the advantage and looked close to wrapping things up in a quick third set, but the Thunderbirds would have none of that. A couple long runs from Southern Utah and their defense blocking the Wolverine's attempts at the net led to things being tied up late in the set. In the last few moments of the match, though, Utah Valley won a couple critical points and pulled away to win the set 25-22.

A highlight for the Thunderbirds in the match was Mckenzie Van Uitert's play at the net. Although she didn't take many attempts, she was deadly accurate when she did attack with six kills and only one error. Kacie Huntsman and Alexis Averett both combined for a total 29 assists as well.

The Thunderbirds will be back in action this weekend at the Fullerton/Riverside Classic in California. Their first match of the tournament will be against Howard University at 1 p.m. MT.

For any and all Thunderbird volleyball news, follow @SUUVolleyball on Twitter and Instagram along with liking the Southern Utah Volleyball page on Facebook.