TUCSON, Ariz. - The Southern Utah University women's volleyball team fought hard but came up short to the North Dakota State Bison on Friday, Sept. 20. The Thunderbirds fell to 4-6 on the season while the Bison improved to 4-5.
Head Coach Kacey Nady Said:Â
"As expected North Dakota State was consistent on both sides of the ball including serving and passing. The biggest point going into this match was that it was going to be a boxing match; be comfortable punching and being punched. It's going to be back and forth. We did that for the first and didn't beyond that set. It comes down to us."
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Match Recap
With the Bison up early 9-4 in the first, the Thunderbirds began to chip away at the lead with a balanced attack led by Carissa Richie and Finley Charapata to take the 15-14 lead going into the media timeout. Coming out of the break, Southern Utah continued the attack, scoring four of the next six points to hold a 19-16 lead. After a 6-1 run gave the Bison a 22-20 advantage, Richie and Spasojevic combined to score the last five points for the Thunderbirds and give them the first frame 25-23.
Set number two saw another quick start for North Dakota State, taking advantage of a 5-0 run to see them up 9-3 early on. A couple of rallies from Southern Utah gave the club some momentum, with a kill by Charlotte Wilson putting the score at 11-7 in favor of the Bison, but that would be as close as the Thunderbirds would get, as a couple of late runs would give NDSU the set 25-17 and tie the match at one apiece.
Despite the early 9-3 run from North Dakota State, the Thunderbirds held serve throughout the third frame, finding themselves down only five at the halfway point of the set, 15-10. Two quick points from the 'Birds put them within three, but the Bison answered with a 4-0 run to take the 19-12 lead. With time running out, Southern Utah began to gain momentum, cashing in on seven of the next 10 points in the game to see the Bison lead cut to only three, 22-19. However, the Thunderbirds would fall just short as a couple of quick points would give NDSU the set win 25-20 and the 2-1 match advantage.
After a 5-1 run gave SUU the 6-4 lead early in the frame, the Bison strung together an offensive attack that included two seperate 4-0 runs to hold a 15-9 advantage at the halfway mark. Despite a couple of errors from NDSU and kills from Charapata and Victoria Zibecchi, the lead proved insurmountable as North Dakota State would take the set 25-15 and win the match 3-1.
Up Next
Southern Utah will wrap up the weekend with a match against host school Arizona on Saturday, Sept. 21. First serve will be at 1:00 p.m. MT and you can watch live on ESPN+ or follow along with live stats here.
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