Orem, Utah — Southern Utah volleyball (2-17, 1-7 WAC) lost its match against Utah Valley (11-8, 7-1) in straight sets on Thursday night. While Southern Utah showed fight in the first set, Utah Valley proved to be a force to be reckoned with.
Match Recap
Southern Utah came out hot in the opening set, taking a 5-2 lead behind a service ace by Asya Akbulut and kills from Victoria Zibecchi and Kaitlyn Hoelker. The Thunderbirds held that lead briefly, with Ezgi Kucuk and Amaya Tobias adding kills. Utah Valley quickly turned the tide, going on a 12-4 run to take a 20-12 advantage. Southern Utah showed resilience, as Hoelker and Addyson McArthur each recorded kills and Tobias added a service ace to cut the deficit to seven. The Wolverines proved too strong, however, closing out the set 25-19.
Utah Valley carried its momentum into the second set, jumping out to a 10-3 lead. Southern Utah responded with a 3-0 run behind a pair of Wolverine errors and a kill from Tobias. The teams traded points midway through the frame before Utah Valley finished on an 11-2 run to win 25-12.
The struggles continued for Southern Utah in the third set, as Utah Valley opened with a 7-1 lead. Kills by Kaitlyn Aleshire and Zibecchi trimmed the deficit to four, and Tobias added both a kill and an ace to bring the Thunderbirds within 12-7. Utah Valley answered with a 9-2 run to extend its lead to 21-9. The Thunderbirds couldn't recover, falling 25-13 in the final set.
Thunderbird Standouts
Coach Jensen Said
"That's not the result we wanted tonight. Credit to Utah Valley. They have a great team and pressured us throughout the match. We need to tighten up our play and be more consistent in key moments."
Up Next
Southern Utah will travel down to St. George on Saturday, Nov. 1, to face off against Utah Tech at 7:00 p.m. MT. This will be the second time that the Thunderbirds will face off against the Trailblazers this season. Southern Utah will look to avenge its loss from earlier this season.
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