IRVINE, Calif. - The Southern Utah volleyball team wrapped up play in the UCI/adidas Invitational Saturday night with a 3-2 (23-25, 20-25, 25-20, 25-22, 15-7) comeback victory over George Mason University and a 0-3 (10-25, 23-25, 22-25) loss to UC Irvine.
In the win over George Mason, the Thunderbirds found themselves down 0-2, but won the final three sets of the match to complete the comeback and prove they aren't a team to be counted out when they are down. Carissa Richie had 12 kills and a .429 hitting percentage to lead the T-Birds offensively. The freshman also had two solo blocks and six block assists for 17 total points in the match. Isabella Saucedo and Ronnie Robinson contributed 11 kills each while Calli Johnson had 19 digs. Corrin Peterson had 41 assists and 12 digs of her own.
As a team, Southern Utah out-hit the Patriots .224-.143 and out-blocked them 10-9.
George Mason took the first two sets of the match by scores of 25-23 and 25-20 putting the T-Birds in a 0-2 hole. However, Southern Utah refused to back down and started the comeback in set three.
They opened the set with a 4-1 scoring run and extended their lead to six at 17-11. They were able to keep the Patriots at a distance, winning four of the final seven points and taking set three 25-20.
The T-Birds found themselves trailing early in set four as George Mason held a 9-5 lead, but they began to chip away. Down 16-20, Southern Utah put together a 5-0 scoring run to take their first lead of the set at 21-20. They ended up winning nine of the last 11 points to win the set and force a fifth-set tiebreaker.
The fifth set was tied 5-5 when the T-Birds went on a 9-1 scoring run to make it 14-6. A final kill from Richie put the Patriots away and completed the comeback for the Thunderbirds.
Southern Utah also played a match against the host UC Irvine Anteaters, but lost the match 0-3. Rylee Achtzehn had eight kills in the match while Raegen Ashby had seven blocks and Calli Johnson had 11 digs.
Carissa Richie and Calli Johnson were both named to the UCI/adidas Invitational All-Tournament team at the conclusion of the event.
The Thunderbirds will be back in action next weekend at a tournament hosted by California Baptist and UC Riverside in Riverside, California.
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