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Southern Utah University Athletics

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SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS
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3
Winner Northern Colorado NC 13-11 (9-6 BSC)
2
Southern Utah SUU 5-23 (4-12 BSC)
Winner
Northern Colorado NC
13-11 (9-6 BSC)
3
Final
2
Southern Utah SUU
5-23 (4-12 BSC)
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Northern Colorado NC 25 25 21 19 16 (3)
Southern Utah SUU 19 19 25 25 14 (2)

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

Thunderbirds Fall in Heartbreaker to Northern Colorado

RECAP | Thunderbirds Fall in Heartbreaker to Northern Colorado

CEDAR CITY, Utah -- The Southern Utah University volleyball team fell 3-2 to the Bears of University of Northern Colorado on Friday evening despite a Thunderbird rally in the third and fourth set.

Janet Kalaniuvalu tied Analaine Mailoto's all-time single game record for kills with 30. Mailoto initially set the mark in 2011 against Oral Roberts. The next closest player to the record was Macky Fafita, who had 29 during the 2017 season at Charlotte.

Next in line for offensive attacks was Miranda Canez who had 10 kills then Katie Montgomery who had seven. Both Canez and Mckenzie Dowell tallied five blocks. Setter Alexis Averett had 43 assists combined. Miahna Waters led in digs with 22.

"I'm excited, I'm proud and I think we made a lot of good moves tonight," Kalaniuvalu said. "When our backrow is making digs like that and the crowd brings that type of energy, you don't want to do anything but put the ball away for them."

The Bears went on an early run outscoring the Thunderbirds 5-1 putting themselves four points ahead of SUU at 10-6. The Thunderbirds came back to tie the set at 12. After several defensive errors by the Thunderbirds the Bears separated themselves by four once again at 20-16. Despite Kalaniuvalu leading both teams in kills with six, the Thunderbirds dropped the first set 25-19.

The beginning of the second set was a bit of deja vu with the score tieing early and then the Bears pulling ahead after a 5-1 scoring run. This time the bears set the score at 8-5 before DOWELL put away a kill earning an SUU sideout. Montgomery earned her second overpass kill of the night in the Thunderbirds effort to catch the Bears who held the lead at 20-17. UNC once again closed the set at 25-19.

The Thunderbirds gained an early lead in the third set after seven successful kills leading the score at 9-7. As played continued the Bears came back to tie the set at three separate times at 15,16 and 18. A service ace from Kalaniuvalu set the Thunderbirds ahead by one at 19-18. The Bears capitalized on a service error by SUU and continued score another point to pull ahead at 21-19. The Thunderbirds front row continued to block four attacks in a row earning a 5-0 scoring run and the lead at 24-21. SUU took the set 25-21.

The fourth set opened with the Thunderbirds in the lead but the Bears came back to knot the score at nines. SUU went on a 5-0 run led by Kalaniuvalu. The Bears made their way back within two of the Thunderbirds at 19-17 but the an attack error by UNC extended SUU's lead to three. Leiataua put away the final kill for the Thunderbirds to earn a second set win for SUU at 25-19.

"I'm proud of the way our team battled back," head coach Pete Hoyer said. "That's the foundation of everything we want to build here. It wasn't a lack of grit, intensity and effort. We were flying around making plays and making ground on something we can build on."

During the fifth set the Thunderbirds trailed by one at 3-2 but a kill from Kalaniuvalu brought the score to three all. Back-and-forth play led to another tie at six but the Thunderbirds came out on top of the rally at 7-6. The lead didn't last long as a SUU service error gave possession back to the Bears who were the first to get to eight points. Upon switching sides, Kalaniuvalu put away five kills for the Thunderbirds, allowing SUU to lead by two at 14-12. A Thunderbird service error and kill from Taylor Muff tied the score at 14 all. The Bears scored after both SUU timeouts which earned them the set win at 16-14 and the match win at 3-2.

"Next week I hope to see this grit," Hoyer noted. "We are going to fight to the end."

The Thunderbirds are now 5-23, 4-12 in Big Sky Conference play.

SUU will play their last home match Thursday, November 15 as they face the Eagles of Eastern Washington at 6:30 p.m. in Cedar City, Utah.
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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