Women's Volleyball 9/27/2018 11:45:00 PM Taylor Whitson - SUU Athletics Strategic Communication

Strong Fight Not Enough for Thunderbirds in Sacramento

Box Score SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The Southern Utah University volleyball team fell to the Sacramento State Hornets 3-1 on Thursday evening.

Leading the Thunderbird offense with 19 kills and two service aces was Janet Kalaniuvalu who played an exceptional game this evening earning praise from head coach Pete Hoyer. Katie Montgomery also received a shoutout from Hoyer as she checked off her first career start this evening as well as coming in second on the leaderboard in kills with six and three aces.

"Janet had a huge match," said Hoyer. "She struggled a bit last weekend but has re-invested herself and is such an integral part of our team. ... Katie had a very solid night as well. She had a nice hitting percentage (0.600) and played tough from the service line."

The first few points of set one were close until the Hornets went on a 9-0 scoring run putting them up 13-4. Sarah Davis, outside hitter for the Hornets, led the run with six of the nine points. Outside of the large scoring margin, the Hornets totalled five aces on the set which had the Thunderbirds back row diving in effort to make plays. Just before match point, Thunderbird setter Alexis Averett made a textbook dump to the middle which earned a side out for the Thunderbirds. Mackenzie Dowell followed the play with a kill but it was not enough as the Hornets scored the next point, earning a Sacramento State set victory 25-13.

During the second set the Thunderbirds played with much more vigor as the score stayed within five for the duration of the set. Waters scored her ninth ace of her season upping the team moral and increasing the pace of play. With a kill from Dowell, SUU pulled within two at the 16-18 mark. An attack made by Kalaniuvalu knotted the game at 19-19, causing the Hornets to call a time-out. Coming out of the timeout, a SUU service error gave Sacramento State a leg up. The Thunderbirds wouldn't go down without a fight, tieing yet again at 23 with another kill from Kalaniuvalu. Davis scored the last point for the Hornets, taking set two 25-23, leaving them up 2-0 in match play.

Not going down without a fight, the Thunderbirds came into the third set with more energy than they had displayed all night. Confidence kept the Thunderbirds in the lead for entirety of the match as Montgomery swung hard from the middle and Kalaniuvalu tacked on an ace in addition to a several crowd silencing kills. The Hornets struggled with several service errors, playing favor to the Thunderbirds side of the scoreboard. It was Montgomery's plays from the middle blocker position and Kalaniuvalu's fearlessness that won the third set for the Thunderbirds 25-19. Taking the match into fourth sets, Thunderbirds down 2-1.

As if switching roles between sets, Sacramento State came into the fourth set ready to put the match away. Big blocks by the Hornets Lana Brown and Cianna Andrews made it hard for the Thunderbirds offense to find any sort of rhythm. Kalaniuvalu still proved to be a force from anywhere on the court, but it was not enough as the Thunderbirds fell 25-19 in the fourth, dropping the match 3-1.

"Portland State is another opportunity for us to get better," said Hoyer. "I think we finally found our 'thing' now. We have played with energy all week, in and out of practice, so we are excited for the match coming up."

The Thunderbirds can be seen next on Saturday, September 29 in Portland, Oregon as they face the Vikings of Portland State University at 2 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.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

#4 Alexis Averett

#10 Janet Kalaniuvalu

#13 Katie Montgomery

Players Mentioned

#4 Alexis Averett

#10 Janet Kalaniuvalu

#13 Katie Montgomery