Women's Volleyball 10/11/2018 10:05:00 PM Taylor Whitson - SUU Athletics Strategic Communication

Thunderbirds Drop in Four Tight Sets to Bears

Box Score RECAP | Thunderbirds Drop in Four Tight Sets to the Bears

GREELEY, Colo. -- The Southern Utah University volleyball team traveled to play the University of Northern Colorado Bears on Thursday evening. Despite the Thunderbirds advantage in blocks and greater hitting percentage in the third set, three out of four tight sets went to UNC, giving SUU the loss 3-1.

Janet Kalaniuvalu led the Thunderbirds in kills with 15, followed by Emma Mangum who had 12. SUU had 14 blocks on the evening, four of them coming from Miranda Canez. Alexis Averett, Katie Montgomery and Mangum each had 3 blocks. Defensively, Miahna Waters led the team with 25 digs.

The Bears opened the first set with a kill and two aces quickly getting ahead of the Thunderbirds. After an ace from Waters and errors in the favor of the Thunderbirds, SUU was able to tie the game at 4. The Thunderbirds took their first lead of the game at 15-14 after two blocks from Canez. Running with the momentum caused by the middle blockers, the Thunderbirds went on a 7-1 scoring run putting the score at 22-15. Kalaniuvalu put away the final ball in the first set at 25-18.

The Thunderbirds started behind in the second set as the Bears went up 7-1. The strong block once again allowed the Thunderbirds to come, this time within three of the Bears at 10-7. Kalaniuvalu broke up the Bears 5-1 scoring run with a kill, but it wasn't enough as another service error from SUU gave the ball back to UNC. A late ace from Montgomery was the last attempt the Thunderbirds had at making a comeback but the Bears couldn't be stopped as they ran with game putting up a seven point difference before ending the match 25-18

SUU was first on the scoreboard opening the third set with yet another block for the Thunderbirds by Averett and Montgomery. The set tied 13 times before two kills from Kalaniuvalu and an attack error from UNC put SUU up by one at 23-22. Coming out of a timeout the Bears went on a 3-0 scoring run. Kayla Uyemura closed the game with an ace, giving the set win to the Bears 25-23.

The Thunderbirds had the Bears within sight at 10-13. With two swings from Mangum and a UNC error, the score was quickly knotted at 13. Possession continued to switch with the Bears in a slight lead until the Thunderbirds went on a 3-0 run to tie the game at 19. An attack error by the Bears pushed the Thunderbirds run to 4-0, giving them the lead by one. The Bears rallied back by going on a 3-0 run, earning a match win 25-22 and a set win 3-1.

The Thunderbirds are now 2-18 on the season and 1-7 in Big Sky Conference play.

The Thunderbirds will play again Thursday, October 18 as they face the Bengals of Idaho State University at 7 p.m. in Pocatello, Idaho.
Stay updated on the Thunderbirds 24/7 by following @SUUVolleyball on Twitter and Instagram along with liking the Southern Utah Volleyball page on Facebook.

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Players Mentioned

#4 Alexis Averett: S; 5' 10"; Junior

#16 Miranda Canez: MB; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#10 Janet Kalaniuvalu: OH; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#3 Emma Mangum: OH/MB; 6' 4"; Freshman

#1 Miahna Waters: L; 5' 8"; Freshman

#13 Katie Montgomery: MH; 6' 2"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#4 Alexis Averett
: 5' 10"; Junior
: S

#16 Miranda Canez
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: MB

#10 Janet Kalaniuvalu
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: OH

#3 Emma Mangum
: 6' 4"; Freshman
: OH/MB

#1 Miahna Waters
: 5' 8"; Freshman
: L

#13 Katie Montgomery
: 6' 2"; Freshman
: MH