STEPHENVILLE, Texas - The Southern Utah University women's volleyball team emerged victorious against Tarleton State on Saturday, Oct. 7, winning in four hard fought sets. The Thunderbirds improve to 5-11 on the season and 1-5 in Western Athletic Conference play, while the Texans fall to 11-9 overall and 2-4 in WAC play.
COACH KACEY NADY SAYS
"So proud of the turnaround today! We had a mission to attack with aggression offensively and wow - the team had so much passion and fight. We out-served Tarleton, out-blocked them, out-dug them, had more kills and out-passed them. Every facet was impressive today of the team's performance. The next step is doing it consistently."
T-BIRD TIDBITS
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Andrea Spasojevic (14), Natasha Obradovic (12), and Molly McDermott (11) propelled the Thunderbirds offense to victory, leading the team in kills.
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Teniyah Leuluai (29) and Allison Rohrer (21) led the T-Birds in assists.
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Hana Makonova recorded five blocks to protect the net for Southern Utah.
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Defensively, Calli Johnson (22) and Spasojevic (21) led the squad in digs.
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As a team, the Thunderbirds led in points (76-69), kills (56-54), aces (11-7), blocks (9-8), assists (53-48), and digs (77-68).
MATCH RECAP
The first set was a close contest. The two squads matched each other point for point, finding themselves tied at 16-16 midway through the set. The Texans used a 5-3 run to go in front by two, 21-19. Southern Utah responded, with Andrea Spasojevic delivering a kill and two serving aces to take a one point lead (22-21). The Thunderbirds went on to claim the set 26-24.
Southern Utah stayed hot in set two, jumping out to an 11-7 lead. Tarleton fought back to tie the contest at 13-13. The two squads took turns scoring points, with the score being 20-20 near the end of the set. The Thunderbirds were able to break the stalemate with a 5-1 run, with Natasha Obradovic scoring the clinching kill to seize the set 25-21.
Tarleton took a 15-12 advantage in set three. The Thunderbirds replied with a 6-3 sprint to tie the score at 18-18. Despite five kills from Spasojevic, the Texans would go on to take the set 25-23.
Kennady Charlton scored two kills and Hana Makonova added two blocks to push SUU to a 14-10 lead in the fourth set. Tarleton battled back, scoring six of the next eight points to even the score at 16-16. Southern Utah retook the lead with an 8-3 run highlighted by a pair of kills from Spasojevic to make the score 24-19. Obradovic delivered the final kill for SUU to win the set 25-21 and the match 3-1.
UP NEXT
The Thunderbirds return home to the America First Event Center next week on Thursday, Oct. 12, where they will battle against Seattle U. The match is slated to begin at 6:30 p.m. MT.
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