SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The 2019 campaign came to a close for the Thunderbird volleyball team on Thursday afternoon in Sacramento, California, as they fell to rival Weber State 3-0 in the First Round of the Big Sky Conference Championship Tournament.
"Being that we didn't have a single player that had been to the tournament on the roster, I really loved the way they handled being in this situation," SUU head coach Pete Hoyer said. "The entire week has been awesome. They were poised and confident with an air of professionalism, so they managed that well. In terms of the match, Weber played very well. Their game plan was to slow down Stacey (Hone) and Shannon (Webb), and they accomplished that. Had we been able to get our middles the ball a little bit more, that might have made a difference in the match the way turned out. But that didn't happen, so we ended up on the short end."
The T-Birds will finish the season with a 15-16 overall record, a marked improvement from their six victories just one season ago.
The Wildcats started the match on a 7-2 run, prompting the T-Birds to call timeout. After that point, SUU was able to get a few more points on the board but another 5-0 run prompted the Thunderbirds to take another timeout trailing 15-6. Ultimately, WSU ran away with the opening set 25-13.
The second set was much closer, but still belonged to Weber State in the end 25-18.
The third and final set was the closest of the three, as the Thunderbirds fought to keep their season alive. Despite trailing for the majority of the frame the T-Birds pulled within three points at 24-21, forcing the Wildcats to call timeout. Unfortunately for SUU, they dropped the point right after the timeout giving WSU the set and the match.
Shannon Webb, who was named Big Sky Newcomer of the Year, finished the match with seven kills to lead the T-Birds. Both Second Team All-Big Sky performer Stacey Hone and Thea Leiataua finished with six kills.
Corrin Peterson finished with 26 assists for SUU.
For the Wildcats, Megan Gneiting finished with 13 kills.
"I walked in that locker room and all I could do was thank them for the effort," Hoyer said. "What our kids have endured with injuries, illnesses and off-court craziness was tough, but we just kept fighting. I couldn't be more proud of this group. It's hard right now, especially for the three seniors, to look at this and spin it in a positive light. But, I guess at my age I can sit here and honestly look at it as such a gritty performance from August on from this group of kids. It will mean something to them down the road. Right now, it's a little rough for some, but I'm incredibly proud of what we've been able to accomplish in the 18 months we've been in Cedar City."
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