CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah University women's volleyball team secured another home sweep on Thursday, Oct. 10, triumphing over the California Baptist Lancers. The Thunderbirds improve to 8-8 on the season and 4-1 in Western Athletic Conference play while the Lancers fall to 1-16 and 1-4 in conference.
Head Coach Kacey Nady Said:
"It took everyone to get this win; the team was ready to attack from the beginning and most importantly it was sustained. It's a fun balance right now - we are enjoying what we are doing well and the team is hungry to improve as well. Continuing this momentum into Saturday will be crucial. Thanks to those who showed support tonight and it'll be needed on Saturday!"
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Match Recap
The Thunderbirds came out of the gate firing, scoring the first five points in the match to take a 17-10 lead halfway through the set. As the Lancers put together a 3-0 scoring run and began to gain momentum, a kill and service ace from Finley Charapata secured a six-point lead, 19-13. With Southern Utah up 23-16 late, CBU once again went on the attack, knocking off five straight to make it a two-point game and force a T-Bird timeout. Out of the break, another Charapata kill and Lancer error gave the Thunderbirds set number one 25-21.
Set number two was a back-and-forth affair for both clubs, with every kill from Southern Utah being met with a response by California Baptist all the way to the media timeout with the home team up 15-14. Back on the court, the battle continued, with both teams tied 18-18 before a 4-0 scoring run gave the Thunderbirds their biggest lead of the frame, 22-18. CBU responded with two quick points, but quick kills from Andrea Spasojevic and Carissa Richie blocked all chances at a comeback to give their team the 25-20 set win and a 2-0 lead.
Southern Utah opened the third set similar to the first, with two service aces from Arianna Rossi opening the frame on the way to an early 6-0 lead. The Lancers looked to build momentum, scoring three of the next five and finding themselves down only seven at the halfway point, 13-6. But the offense of the Thunderbirds continued to be relentless, stringing together the last 12 points of the set to dominate their way to a 25-6 win and their sixth home sweep of the season.
Up Next
The team will stay in the AFEC on Saturday, Oct. 12 as they prepare to take on the Grand Canyon Antelopes. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. MT and you can watch it live on ESPN+.
Tickets
For single-game tickets, be sure to visit tbirdtickets.com.
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