CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah University volleyball team (5-13, 4-5 WAC) came up short against Utah Valley (13-7, 7-1 WAC), falling in four hard fought sets.
The Wolverines came out strong to begin set one, quickly building a 5-1 lead over the T-Birds. Southern Utah weathered the storm and came back to tie the match at eight points apiece after a Molly McDermott kill. UVU made another push, going ahead 14-11 midway through the set. It didn't last for long, however. The Thunderbirds capitalized on several Utah Valley's errors and a pair of kills by Andreanna McKee and Macy Short to mount a 6-1 run, jumping in front for the first time all set (17-15). The Wolverines bounced back, and soon the set was tied at 20-20. Utah Valley proved why they are one of the best teams in the WAC, scoring five of the next seven points to take the first set 25-22.
Utah Valley once again began with a big lead, as they found themselves up 8-4 to begin the second set. Southern Utah didn't let the Wolverines stay ahead for long, coming back to tie the set at 10-10. A kill by Carissa Richie put the Thunderbirds ahead by one, and they kept in front by going on a 3-1 run (14-11). Rylee Achtzehn was brilliant over the next stretch, scoring three of the next five Thunderbird points to put SUU ahead 19-14. The Wolverines made a run to attempt to come back, but they came up short. It was Achtzehn who scored the final point for the Thunderbirds, as they seized the set 25-22.
Once again UVU came out strong (6-2), and once again the Thunderbirds battled back, tying the set at 7-7 after a kill by Makenzie Templeton. This was followed by a ferocious 9-2 run by the Wolverines, who went up 16-9 over Southern Utah. The set appeared to be over, but SUU fought back to make things interesting, trailing by only three after Carissa Richie made the score 21-18. It was too little, too late, however, and the Wolverines would go on to win the set 25-20.
This time it was the Thunderbirds who started strong. Rylee Achtzehn recorded three kills in the beginning of this set to help build a 8-6 T-Bird lead. The Wolverines responded, scoring 11 straight points to take a 17-8 advantage. They never looked back, taking the set 25-15 and the match 3-0.
Rylee Achtzehn led Southern Utah in kills tonight, tallying 12 over four sets. Offensively it was a total team effort, as seven Thunderbirds chipped in five or more kills. Macy Short was the one who set up many of these kills. Short would register 35 assists to go along with 13 digs, both team highs. On the defensive end, Carissa Richie had an impressive outing, recording a career-high six blocks.
Southern Utah competed well tonight against one of the best teams in the Western Athletic Conference.
Up Next
The Thunderbirds will be back in action on Saturday, where they travel to Utah Tech to take on the Trailblazers. The match is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. MT.
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