RECAP | Southern Utah Volleyball Defeats Sacramento State in Five Set Battle 

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The Thunderbird volleyball program traveled to Sacramento, California this Thursday evening where the downed the Sacramento State Hornets 3-2. SUU volleyball is now 9-6 overall and 2-1 in Big Sky Conference play. 

"We bent but we did not break," said head coach Pete Hoyer. "Our upperclassmen played out of their minds in order to rally back and take things home in the fifth set. I am proud of the seniors leadership tonight and proud of the records we were able to set. We are even more excited to head to Portland and continue toward our team goal of winning the Big Sky Conference Championship." 

Shannon Webb led the Thunderbirds in kills with 17. Katie Montgomery and Webb tied in overall points scored with 18.5 a piece. Montgomery also posted a double-double with 10 kills and 12 blocks. 

Corrin Peterson set a new SUU individual match service ace record as she tallied six aces on the evening; replacing Brittney Clark's five service ace record from 2010 when the T-Birds visited South Dakota State. The Thunderbird team totaled 14 aces on the match, putting themselves in second for single match team service ace records.  Peterson also led in assists with 40. Sarah Gasper led the Thunderbirds in digs with 15, followed by Webb and Alexis Averett who both posted 12.  

The first set score knotted six times before the 10 point mark but it was the Hornets who hit 10 first. Thea Leiataua answered back with a kill, tying the score for the seventh time at 10-10. The lead continued to teetered back and forth from SUU to Sacramento until SUU went on a 6-0 scoring run, four of the points came from Peterson's four aces. The Hornets came back to cut the deficit to two at 19-17. SUU pulled ahead by three at 22-19 but Sacramento came back to tie things at 22-22. A block by the Hornets followed by a service error knotted the score at 23-23. An assisted block from Stacey Hone and Webb put the Thunderbirds up by one at 24-23. Katie Montgomery's middle block won the set for SUU at 25-23. 

SUU opened the second set with an early lead, going on a 3-0 scoring run to put the Thunderbirds up 7-4 over the Hornets. After Peterson's fifth ace of the night the Thunderbirds crossed the 10 point mark first as the Hornets trailed at 10-6. Sacramento made their way back with a 4-0 scoring run, behind the SUU by one at 10-9. The score knotted at 11-11, where Hoyer called a Thunderbird timeout. SUU came out of the timeout on a 5-0 scoring run, setting the score to 16-12. The Hornets answered back by going on their own scoring run of six points which gave them their first lead of the set at 18-16. SUU knotted the score at 19-19 but Sacramento pulled away by two at 21-19. The Thunderbirds caught the Hornets at 24-24 and a service ace from Averett put SUU up 25-24. A Hornet kill tied things once again at 25-25. A kill from Peterson and Webb gave the Thunderbirds the set victory at 27-25. 

The Thunderbirds started behind in the third set but made their way back to the Hornets at 12-12. As play continued the score knotted again at 15-15 but it was Sacramento who pulled away by two at 18-16 where Hoyer called an SUU timeout. After the break the Hornets came back to score four more, pushing their lead to 22-18. The Thunderbirds comeback effort wasn't enough as the Hornets took the third set 25-20. 

SUU was the first to the 10 point mark in the fourth set as the Thunderbirds led the Hornets by one at 10-9. Sacramento then went on a 4-0 scoring run, leading the Thunderbirds by three at 13-10. Hoyer called the first SUU timeout after Sacramento went on their second scoring run of the set giving themselves a 16-11 lead over the Thunderbirds. The Hornets came out of the timeout by scoring another three more before Hoyer called his second timeout at 19-12. The Thunderbirds couldn't overcome the deficit as the Hornets took the set 25-16. 

SUU scored first in the fifth and final set on a kill from Webb. As play continued the Thunderbirds gave themselves a three point lead at 7-4. SUU was the first to eight points, leading Sacramento 8-5 before switching sides of the net. The Hornets called their first timeout at 10-5 where they trailed the Thunderbirds by five. Coming out of the timeout the Hornets fought their way back within three at 10-7 but a ball handling error gave SUU the point and side-out. SUU's fourteenth ace of the evening extended the Thunderbirds lead to 12-7. Sacramento called their second timeout of the set at 13-7 T-Birds. SUU finished the game after two kills after the timeout, taking the set 15-7 giving the Thunderbirds match victory over the Hornets 3-2. 

Next Up

The Thunderbirds will face the Vikings of Portland State University on Saturday, October 5, 2019 at 8:00 p.m. MT. 

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