ARLINGTON, Texas - The Southern Utah University volleyball team (7-16, 6-8 WAC) wrapped up conference play today against UT Arlington (17-9, 9-5 WAC), falling short in five tightly contested sets.

The Mavericks came out strong to begin set one, quickly building a 6-3 advantage. Following this, Southern Utah would find their rhythm, firing off five straight points to jump in front. UT Arlington would come back to tie the game at 11-11, but that was the closest they would get. Southern Utah would go up 20-14 after three straight attack errors by the Mavericks. The Thunderbirds would cruise to the finish line, taking the first set 25-16.

The second set was a game of runs. In the beginning neither team could break away from the other. Southern Utah remained within striking distance (11-9) early on. Following this, UT Arlington would find themselves up 17-10 after scoring six of the next seven points. The Thunderbirds would battle back themselves, utilizing a 11-4 run to tie the set at 21 points apiece. The set would go down to the wire, ultimately with the Mavericks coming away with a narrow 25-23 victory.

UT Arlington rode this momentum to begin set three. The Mavericks leapt out to a 7-2 lead. The T-Birds would weather the storm. A kill from Raegen Beeson would trim the lead to only two (11-9). After this, the Mavericks would go on a ferocious run, soon finding themselves up 22-12. UT Arlington would go on to take the set 25-14.

Southern Utah came out strong in set four. The Thunderbirds would go up 5-2 after a kill by Rylee Achtzehn. The Maverick would briefly reclaim the lead, going up 7-6, but they never led again following this. The Thunderbirds would go on a run of their own to build a 17-12 advantage. The Mavericks never recovered. SUU would go on to win the set 25-19, setting up a fifth and final set to decide the match.

The two squads were neck and neck to begin the final set. The score was 8-7 in favor of the Mavericks midway through. UT Arlington would break away after this, however. UT Arlington executed to perfection down the stretch, winning the set 15-8 and the match 3-2.

Rylee Achtzehn was prolific on both offense and defense today, totaling a career-high 17 kills to go along with five blocks. Raegen Beeson also recorded double digit kills with 12. In addition to tallying eight kills, Makenzie Templeton led the team with 13 digs on the day. Macy Short was crucial for powering the Thunderbirds offense, collecting 40 assists over the five sets.

With the loss, Southern Utah finishes the regular season 7-16 overall, and 6-8 in conference play.

Up Next

The Thunderbirds have punched their ticket to the Western Athletic Conference tournament, where they will face UTRGV in the quarterfinals on Thursday. The match is slated to begin at 6:00 p.m. MT.

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