CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah volleyball team opened their 2020-21 season Friday night with a 0-3 loss to Dixie State.

Andreanna McKee led the Thunderbirds with 14 kills on the night. Mckenzie Dowell had 10 kills, two block assists, and a hitting percentage of .533. Corrin Peterson had 30 assists and one service ace.

Dixie State was in control all night in this one, as the Thunderbirds never led by more than three points in any set.

With the score set at 7-5 in set one, the Trailblazers put together a 6-0 run to push their lead to 13-5. The Thunderbirds were able to rattle off a couple of 3-0 runs of their own throughout the rest of the set, but were never able to catch DSU, losing the first set 25-18.

In the second set, the Thunderbirds held one-point leads at three different points early in the set. They found themselves up 10-9 after a kill from McKee, but then Dixie State put together a 4-0 scoring run to make it 10-13. With the score set at 14-18, the Thunderbirds were able to string together a 4-0 run of their own, tying the set at 18-18. However, the Trailblazers did fold and would go on to win the set 21-25.

The third set of the night was a dogfight, with four lead changes and six ties. The teams went back-and-forth and with the score at 21-23, the Thunderbirds were able to tie the set at 23-23 behind a kill from McKee and a DSU attack error. Things tied up again at 24-24, but Dixie State would win the next two points and take the third and final set 24-26.

The Thunderbirds will be on the road next weekend as they travel to Idaho to take on the Vandals.

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