POCATELLO, Idaho -- The Southern University volleyball team hit the road to face Idaho State on Thursday evening, picking up a big 3-2 victory over the Bengals.
SUU showed massive improvement on Thursday night after being swept by the Bengals earlier in the season at home.
"It felt really good, I feel like we did not perform really well in that match a month ago and we responded today," SUU head coach Pete Hoyer said. "That's probably the best start we've had in a match all season. We walked right out on the court ready to play and took it to them right from the get go."
The Thunderbirds earned their third victory of the season behind 25 kills from Janel Kalaniuvalu and solid play as a team across all five sets. Miahna Waters, tied with ISU's Haylie Keck, led the team defensively with 25 digs overall.
Emma Mangum racked up three kills in the first set and helped raise momentum for the Thunderbirds. SUU coasted towards the end of the set and went into the second with an early win in their pocket.
It was a tight second set for both teams. A few errors from the T-Birds set the Bengals ahead towards the end. Alexis Averett had four blocks overall that helped keep SUU in the game. After a long fought set, the Bengals snuck the last points in and claimed the second.
The Thunderbirds racked in the kills during the third set with 18 overall. Kalaniuvalu managed three aces in a row that put the team up 6-3 after being tied 3-3. After another close set, the Thunderbirds came out on top ending it 25-23.
The fourth set proved difficult for the Thunderbirds as they trailed behind the Bengals. After some good service from Averett to Kalaniuvalu, the T-Birds got back into their groove. Canez had a big kill on ISU's Abby Garrity as she totalled seven overall. Idaho State took the fourth, sending the match into five sets.
SUU came out strong in the fifth, shutting down the Bengals early. A service ace by Katie Montgomery, followed by a big kill from Kalaniuvalu, quickly set the T-Birds up 4-1. Idaho State snuck in three fast points but were soon cut off with several kills from Kalaniuvalu. The final point came from a service error by ISU, ending the well played match 3-2.
"In the fourth set we kind of took our foot off the gas a little bit," Hoyer said. "Hats off to our athletes because they went into the break before the fourth and fifth, regrouped, go their confidence back and played with energy and confidence. When we do that we can compete with anybody in this league."
The Thunderbirds will continue their road trip this Saturday with a rematch against in-state rival Weber State. First serve in Ogden is set for 1 p.m.
Stay updated on the Thunderbirds 24/7 by following @SUUVolleyball on Twitter and Instagram along with liking the Southern Utah Volleyball page on Facebook.
