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Southern Utah University Athletics

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SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS
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3
Winner Montana State MSU 7-10 (2-4 BSC)
1
Southern Utah SUU 2-16 (1-5 BSC)
Winner
Montana State MSU
7-10 (2-4 BSC)
3
Final
1
Southern Utah SUU
2-16 (1-5 BSC)
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Montana State MSU 25 23 25 25 (3)
Southern Utah SUU 23 25 21 20 (1)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | Taylor Whitson - SUU Athletics Strategic Communication

Thunderbirds Fall in Four to Bobcats

HEADLINE | Thunderbirds Fall in Four to Bobcats

RECAP | The Southern Utah University volleyball team entered their sixth Big Sky Conference match on Saturday afternoon where they fell 3-1 to Montana State University. The Thunderbirds are now 1-5 in Big Sky Conference play, 2-16 overall.

Though the match didn't end in SUU's favor, it was a big night for two Thunderbird hitters as Emma Mangum set a personal best hitting .433 tallying 16 kills, only to be topped by Janet Kalaniuvalu who led the Thunderbirds with 18 kills. Miranda Canez made noise in the middle with six crucial kills and two blocks. Libero Miahna Waters led the Thunderbird defense with 20 digs.

"We didn't come out ready to play," head coach Pete Hoyer said. "As head coach I own that, but it was a struggle."

When asked if there were any positives from the match, coach praised Mangum's play from the right side saying "Her (Mangum) role in our offense continues to grow. She's a freshman, hasn't been playing the sport very long and she was highly successful from the right side. I wish we could have kept her front row for all six rotations."

The Thunderbirds gave up three points off of service errors before hitting the 10 point mark in the first set. The Bobcats took advantage of the errors and ran with the match all the way to the 22-18 mark. After a timeout called by Hoyer, the Thunderbirds were able to rally back within two in hopes to catch the Bobcats. Two strong hits from Kalaniuvalu and five big blocks from Katie Montgomery and Canez wasn't enough in the comeback effort as the Bobcats took the set 25-23.

The second set began with the Bobcats in the lead but the Thunderbirds quickly knotted the score at seven. The game continued to go back and forth tying at 10, 11 and 14. A kill by Canez pushed the Thunderbirds into the lead which started a 4-0 run for SUU. Coming out of a timeout called by the Bobcats, MSU came back within one at 18-17. Three kills from Kalaniuvalu kept SUU atop at 21-19. Two kills from the Bobcats evened the score once again at 22. Canez's slide attack won the set for the Thunderbirds 25-23.

The Bobcats opened the third set on a service error and Mangum swung away tallying two kills in a row for the Thunderbirds. Natalie Passack, the Bobcats leading scorer, served two consecutive aces to start a 10-0 scoring run for MSU. A middle kill from Montgomery ended the Bobcats scoring streak but only for one rotation as a Kalaniuvalu was tooled on a block and the Bobcats received a side out. A full team effort brought the Thunderbirds back within three at 24-21, but the hustle was not enough as McKayla Landreth made the final kill for the Bobcats at 25-21.

The fourth set belonged to the Bobcats as the Thunderbirds could not find their rhythm. A late 5-1 scoring run with kills from Mckenzie Dowell and Mangum almost pulled the Bobcats within reach but the eight attack errors by SUU gave MSU the advantage they needed to take the set 25-19, earning a match win 3-1.

The Thunderbirds can be seen next on Monday, October 8 as they face the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona University at 6:30 p.m. in the America First Event Center.
Stay updated on the Thunderbirds 24/7 by following @SUUVolleyball on Twitter and Instagram along with liking the Southern Utah Volleyball page on Facebook.
For more pictures of today's match head to Southern Utah University's SmugMug collection here
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