NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Southern Utah University volleyball team (7-15, 6-7 WAC) came up short against Stephen F. Austin (22-4, 10-3 WAC) on Thursday, falling in four sets.

The Ladyjacks jumped out to a 7-2 lead to begin set one. The Thunderbirds would battle back to get within one point (13-12), but SFA would pull away in the end. The Ladyjacks would go on to take the first set 25-18.

The two squads would match each other blow for blow to start the second set, as SFA clung to an 11-10 lead. Southern Utah would mount a 6-1 run to take a four point advantage (16-12). The Ladyjacks struck back, taking a narrow 19-18 edge over SUU approaching the end of the set. However, the Thunderbirds would execute down the stretch, winning the second set 25-22 to tie the match.

Set three began as a close contest, as the two teams saw themselves tied at 7-7. Following this, SFA broke away with a 8-1 run to hold a 15-8 lead. The Ladyjacks never looked back, taking set three with a score of 25-16.

The fourth was a stalemate to begin, as the Thunderbirds and Ladyjacks found themselves tied at 14-14. SFA scored six of the next seven points to jump in front for good, winning the set 25-19 and the match 3-1.

Makenzie Templeton was huge for Southern Utah tonight, racking up 16 kills. Raegen Beeson also recorded double digit kills with 11, while Rylee Achtzehn wasn't far behind with nine. Achtzehn led the team with 15 digs, with Templeton collecting 14. As usual, Macy Short led the way for the Thunderbirds in the assist department. Short compiled 41 assists through four sets.

With the loss, Southern Utah drops to 6-7 in conference play and 7-15 overall.

Up Next

The Thunderbirds will stay on the road this week, as they will take on UT Arlington on Saturday in their final conference game. The match is slated to begin at 10:00 a.m. MT. 

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