Abilene, TX - Southern Utah volleyball (2-13, 1-3) dropped its match against Abilene Christian 2-3. The Thunderbirds started out on fire, taking the two sets in a commanding way. The Wildcats battled back and completed the reverse sweep.
Game Recap
The first set saw the Thunderbirds jump out to an early 11-2 lead. Aleeya Jones recorded three consecutive service aces to fuel the Thunderbirds' offense. Abilene Christian would look to reverse the momentum and record four straight points, two of which came off errors by the Thunderbirds to cut the Southern Utah lead to 13-7. Southern Utah would proceed to go on a 7-2 run to go up 20-9. The early lead would prove to be too much against the Wildcats as the Thunderbirds secured a 25-19 set win.
The second set would see both teams trading blows in exciting fashion. A mid-set offensive explosion saw the Thunderbirds' take a 20-18 lead, led by back-to-back service aces by Amaya Tobias. Southern Utah would control the rest of the set to win 25-21.
Southern Utah took the lead midway through the third set behind a kill by Kaitlyn Hoelker and a service ace by Swayzee Mason. The Thunderbirds would lose control late as Abilene Christian closed the set on an 8-1 run as Southern Utah lost the set 19-25.
The Thunderbirds would stick around the fourth set due to Abilene Christian errors. Southern Utah saw the Wildcats go on a 7-1 run to trail 20-11, and that deficit would be too much to overcome as the Thunderbirds dropped the fourth set 16-25.
The bleeding would continue in the fifth set, as Abilene Christian would come out on fire, and the Thunderbirds suddenly saw themselves trailing 0-10. Victoria Zibecchi and Aleeya Jones would provide some offense, but it wasn't enough as the Thunderbirds lost the set 6-15.
Thunderbirds Standouts
Coach Jensen Said
"It's very frustrating to lose a match that we had control of early. We did a lot of things right in the beginning, and then it got away from us. We know we're capable of closing that match, and we couldn't get it done tonight.
Up Next
Southern Utah volleyball will continue its Texas trip as it heads to Stephenville to take on Tarleton State Saturday, October 11, at 12:00 PM MT.
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