CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah University women's volleyball team emerged victorious over Tarleton State on Thursday, Sept. 26, beating the Texans in three straight sets. The Thunderbirds climb to 5-7 overall and 1-0 in Western Athletic Conference play while the Texans fall to 5-9 and 0-1 in WAC play.
Head Coach Kacey Nady Said:
"We played as a team tonight and were hungry to win. This team can accomplish a LOT this season with the will and belief to win. We are so proud of the start, middle and end."
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Match Recap
The first set was a back-and-forth affair for both teams before a 4-0 run put the Texans up 10-7 early. After kills from Victoria Zibecchi and Molly McDermott helped tie the game at 11 apiece, the clubs went blow for blow once again. With Tarleton up 15-14, the Thunderbirds began firing, securing a 4-0 run to put them on top 18-15. As SUU began to gain momentum, TSU began to fire off kills of their own, giving the home team a slim one-point lead late, 20-19, before a kill from Marlee Ervin sparked another scoring run for her team capped off by a Madison Walker ace that gave the Thunderbirds set number one 25-20.
Frame number two started much of the same, with both squads tied 15-15 at the halfway mark of the set. With the Texans up 19-18 late, the Thunderbirds came alive, scoring six of the next eight points to put them on the precipice of the win, 24-21, but Tarleton refused to go away, stringing together another scoring run, 3-0, to tie things up yet again. With the score reading 24-24, a quick kill from Carissa Richie gave her team the one-point lead and after a TSU error a point later, the 'Birds would secure the set 26-24 and a 2-0 match lead.
After opening the third with two quick points, Southern Utah continued to pile it on early, holding a 13-4 set lead halfway through. After a 4-0 run from Tarleton chipped into the lead, the Thunderbirds began to fight back. Led by the offense of Finley Charapata, the 'Birds rallied off a 3-0 run and 4-0 run of their own, capped off by a kill from Kennady Charlton to ice the set 25-13 and the 3-0 match sweep.
Up Next
Southern Utah will stay at home as the club gears up to take on the Abilene Christian Wildcats on Saturday, Sept. 28. First serve will be at 1:00 p.m. MT and you can watch live on ESPN+ or follow along with live stats here.
Tickets
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