IRVINE, Calif. -- The Southern Utah University volleyball team lost 3-0 to the University of California Irvine Anteaters Saturday afternoon, concluding the Long Beach Tournament and non-conference play for the Thunderbirds.

University of California Irvine 3, Southern Utah 0

Janet Kalaniuvalu lead the Thunderbirds in kills with eight, followed closely by Mckenzie Dowell who chipped in seven, respectively. The defense for the Thunderbirds was tested this afternoon, yet Miahna Waters tallied 14 digs and Kalaniuvalu added in eight of her own. Setter Alexis Averett contributed 6 points to the match off of quick, smart decisions at the net and a service ace.

"We started slow again," said Head coach Pete Hoyer "We are working on mastering starting strong and I don't feel like that was something we were able to pull off this game. UC Irvine is a really great team but I think if we would have pressed as hard as we did in the second set throughout the entire match, things would have ended a little nicer for us."

Opening the first set, the Anteaters quickly found the holes within the Thunderbirds defense. Leading the entire set, UCI was able to hit and dump the ball well, capitalizing on the middle of the court. SUU's Waters darted across the backcourt for the entire set, but to no avail as the Anteaters took the match 25-14.
In what seems to be the typical Thunderbird fashion this season, the second set came with much more fire and grit. Averett scored the first point of the match with a quick dump to the middle, exciting SUU's offense and rallying team moral. The Thunderbirds stayed strong from the service line as Thea Leiatua tallied up two service aces in a row mid set. In a close back and forth game, changing possession a total of 37 times, the Thunderbirds kept close to the Anteaters for the entire duration of play, but unfortunately dropped the second set 25-21.

The Anteaters tried to make a statement early in the third set as they led by 11 at one point, but the Thunderbirds fought back bringing things within 4 at the 23-19 mark. Diving across what seemed to be the entire court, Waters and Kalaniuvalu made every attempt to return the fierce attacks made by the Anteaters. Despite hard fought efforts, UCI held onto their lead all the way to match point, where they won 25-19.
Concluding the third set, the Anteaters won the match 3-0.

"Our focus is getting better everyday," Hoyer said "We are seeing little pieces come together, little parts of the game, and that's what we needed to do this weekend and this entire non conference schedule. The girls have gotten better game by game, set by set, and that's all I could ask of them. As a team, we are now looking towards our conference play goals and making the Big Sky Tournament. It's only up from here. " 

Next Up
The Thunderbirds can be seen next in their Big Sky Conference home opener, against rival Weber State University, on Thursday September 20th inside the American First Event Center.

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