CEDAR CITY, Utah - Idaho State swept Southern Utah 3-0 (26-24, 25-20, 25-16) on Thursday, Oct. 8, at the America First Event Center. The Thunderbirds rallied from a 7-1 deficit to tie the first set 24-24 before the Bengals took the next two points. SUU falls to 1-14 overall, and 0-5 in Big Sky play.
Thunderbird Leaders
Audrey Atwood led SUU with nine kills and added eight digs. Emilia Linden had five kills and two blocks, and Ryen Smith added five kills and two aces. Emilia Zug hit .571 off the bench with four kills on seven swings. Talea Berry ran the offense for 15 assists with two aces and six digs, and Celeste Uruena added 13 assists. Amanda Mendoza led the back row with 13 digs, and Natalie Moore had three blocks.
Rally From 7-1 Comes Up Short
Idaho State built a 7-1 lead with a 5-0 run, and SUU called a timeout. The Thunderbirds chipped back to force an Idaho State timeout at 20-17, pulled within 20-19, and tied it 24-24 on an Atwood kill set up by Uruena. Watts answered with a kill for set point, and Vohs closed the set 26-24. Smith had four kills on six swings in the set.
Bengals Pull Away
Idaho State led 15-8 at the second-set media timeout and 20-15 when SUU used a timeout. Linden scored out of the break and later added a solo block, but Ashlyn Smith's solo block ended the set 25-20. In the third, an Atwood kill set by Berry pulled SUU within 15-13 before Smith posted back-to-back solo blocks. Idaho State closed the match on an 8-3 stretch, with Ava Brickner's kill bringing up match point.
Watts led Idaho State with 14 kills on 17 attacks without an error (.824). Aspen Boice had 19 digs, Kadence Marsh had 17 assists, and Ashlyn Smith had five blocks. The Bengals hit .198 to SUU's .075 and out-blocked the Thunderbirds 10-6, while SUU held a 4-0 edge in aces.
Up Next
Southern Utah stays home to welcome Weber State on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 1 p.m. MT. That match will stream on ESPN+, with live stats available on the schedule link at suutbirds.com.Â
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