CEDAR CITY, Utah—The Southern Utah University women's volleyball team lost to the Western Athletic Conference regular-season champions from UT Arlington Thursday night 3-1(25-21, 24-26, 25-14, 25-14). The loss drops the Thunderbirds' record to 10-16 overall and 6-9 in conference play. The Mavericks improved to 25-2 on the season and remained perfect in WAC play at 15-0. 

Head Coach Kacey Nady Said:

"When we stayed disciplined and executed, we played well against a great team. We served and defended much more effectively and are looking to grow and finish strong before the tournament. Thank you to all who supported us at home this season. We will miss playing in our beautiful AFEC and our amazing community!" 

Honoring The Seniors

Prior to the match, Southern Utah honored the seniors for the 2024 team with a small ceremony. The seniors have genuinely dedicated their time and energy to making the Thunderbird volleyball program more successful in their tenure. 

Match Recap

The first set began with teams trading points before UT Arlington went on a run to take a 5-2 lead. Carissa Richie made her presence felt in the middle of the set, putting down a massive kill to stop a UTA run and put the T-Birds back in form. The Mavericks continued to lead despite the great back-to-back serves for Teniyah Leuluai, which put the Thunderbirds within one point. The Mavericks would rattle off consecutive points to extend the lead back to four. UT Arlington kept the pressure on and executed well to gain its largest lead of the set at six points. A quick run by the Southern brought the match to within three points, but a timeout by the Mavericks helped them to right the ship, finishing the set 25-21.  

The second set started much like the first, with both teams exchanging points on the way to a 3-3 tie. The Mavericks gained momentum, however, over the following few points, which allowed them to build a 7-4 lead. The teams continued to go point for point until a pair of big blocks by Leulai and Richie brought the T-Birds even at 10-10. The back-and-forth battle continued for the next few points before UT Arlington opened up a run to gain a three-point advantage. Not to be dismayed, the Thunderbirds continued to battle, down 21-18, the Thunderbirds fought back. With their backs against the wall and UT Arlington holding a set point at 24-22, The Thunderbirds rattled off four straight points on the serve by Leuluai, and Kennady Charlton slammed it home with the final kill of the set making it 26-24 in favor of Southern Utah.

Coming out of the break, the Thunderbirds had some fire, starting with a lead before settling into trading points with the Mavericks. UT Arlington went on a run to take a 9-5 lead. The Birds continued to fight, bringing the match to within one at 13-12. A pair of five-point runs by the Mavericks were separated by only a few back-and-forth points, leading the Mavericks to take the third set 25-14. 

Going into the fourth, UT Arlington continued with the momentum, quickly building a solid lead at 9-3. It looked like the Thunderbirds might find something when Molly McDermott hammered down a kill, but the Mavericks showed why they are the WAC leaders, extending the lead to 16-7. Southern Utah would nearly match the Mavericks point for point the rest of the way. The significant lead would prove insurmountable, and  UT Arlington would close out the match, winning the fourth set 25-14. 

Up Next

The Thunderbirds will hit the road on Saturday to take on Utah Valley in the regular season finale. The Thunderbirds will look to avenge a loss to UVU from their matchup on Halloween night. The match is set to begin at noon MT and will be available to stream on ESPN+. 

Tickets

For single-game tickets, be sure to visit tbirdtickets.com.

Follow Us

You can stay current on the Thunderbird Volleyball program by following @SUUVolleyball on Twitter and Instagram and liking the Southern Utah Volleyball page on Facebook.

Donate

Consider donating today to support Thunderbird athletics! To learn more about how you can help, click here.