Box Score MORAGA, Calif. -- Southern Utah dropped its second straight match to open the 2026 season, losing to Saint Mary's (CA) in 3 consecutive sets. The Thunderbirds struggled to contain a prolific attack that led the Gaels to outscore Southern Utah by more than 30 points across all sets.
Saint Mary's came into the game after losing their season opener to UC San Diego, and seemed to take out their frustrations on Southern Utah early, winning the first set by a score of 25-11. The Gaels offense couldn't seem to do anything wrong as they scored 16 points on 19 attacks, and only recorded one attacking error.
The Thunderbirds came out much stronger in the second set, with Natalie Moore and Cala Cooper firing up the team as the score was tied at 16-16. That was as close as the game would get as Saint Mary's scored eight of the final nine points of the second set to finish it 25-17. The third set was much like the first, with Saint Mary's coasting to a comfortable 25-13 win to close out their first win of the young season.
For Southern Utah, it was another struggle on offense, with the team combining for only 18 kills and 17 attack errors. Middle blockers Natalie Moore and Molly Mitchell were the leading scorers for the Thunderbirds on the night, scoring a combined 10 points. It was a very efficient night for Moore, who has now recorded nine kills on 14 attacks through two games, and has four blocks for good measure.
The Thunderbirds will close out their weekend on Sunday at noon Mountain Time when they take on the Pacific Tigers in Berkeley.
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