GREELEY, Colo. - The sixth-seeded Southern Utah volleyball team knocked off three-seed Montana State Wednesday evening in the first round of the Big Sky Volleyball Championship Tournament. The Thunderbirds took down the Bobcats 3-2 (25-23, 14-25, 21-25, 25-22, 15-12) to secure the first conference tournament win in program history.
The win pushed the T-Birds' current win streak to five games and they have now won seven of their last nine. It also locked in a winning season for Southern Utah for the first time since 2010 as they moved to 9-7. It will be just the second time in program history that the Thunderbirds will finish with a record above .500.
"From where we were in January to where we are now is incredible. Everything we are doing right now is history. To win a match and advance is incredible for these players," head coach Pete Hoyer said after the match. "We are fortunate to be playing given everything that has happened in the world in the last 13 months and this group has appreciated every minute they can be on the court together. We have had different people step up at different times in the last couple weeks and it really shows what kind of a team we have."
Bridget Triplett led the Thunderbirds offensively with 14 kills and just three errors, combining for the eighth-highest single-match hitting percentage in program history at .524. The junior also had a career-high seven blocks and three service aces.
Andreanna McKee had 13 kills and a career-high eight blocks on the night. Corrin Peterson racked up 37 assists and led the team in digs with 19. Mckenzie Dowell also put up a career-high eight blocks.
The Thunderbirds won the first set in comeback fashion, after finding themselves in a 6-0 hole to start the match. The Bobcats were able to push their lead to seven at 15-8, but that was where the comeback began. Southern Utah scored 12 of the next 16 points and took their first lead at 20-19. Montana State tied the set up at 21-21, but the T-Birds closed out the first set on a 4-2 run to go up 1-0.
Set two was all Bobcats as they opened the set on a 11-1 scoring run and eventually tied the match at 1-1 after winning the second set 25-14.
Montana State took a much closer set three as well to take a 2-1 lead and put the Thunderbirds on the ropes.
Set four saw the two teams trade leads six times and was tied up 10 different times throughout the set. The Thunderbirds led 9-8 when the Bobcats went on a 5-0 scoring run to take a four-point lead. Southern Utah began chipping away and a quick 3-0 scoring run would give them a 21-20 lead. They would go on to score four of the next six points and send the match to a fifth and final set.
The Thunderbirds continued their fifth-set dominance, hitting .318 as a team with just two errors in the set. The Bobcats led 7-4 when the T-Birds went on a 9-1 scoring run to make it 13-8. Montana State won four of the next six points, but the Thunderbirds were able to close out the set and the match at 15-12.
Southern Utah will play in the semifinals tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. against second-seeded Northern Colorado.
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