ST. GEORGE, Utah -- Southern Utah fell to Utah Tech in four sets (25-18, 25-21, 23-25, 25-18) on Tuesday, Sept. 29, despite a stifling defensive performance that saw the Thunderbirds hold their opponent below a .200 hitting percentage for the third time in the last five matches.
Thunderbird Leaders
Audrey Atwood led the team in kills for the second consecutive match with 10 for her first double-digit performance of the season. Emilia Linden and Natalie Moore each contributed seven kills of their own, and Ryen Smith scored six to extend her streak of five-plus kill matches to five. Cala Cooper was the star of the night on defense as the Utah State transfer led the team with five total blocks, including three solo stops. Natalie Moore also recorded three solo blocks as she now has at least three total blocks in three of her last four performances, while Emilia Linden assisted on three blocks to make it three straight matches with at least a trio of rejections. Amanda Mendoza seemed to be everywhere at once as the sophomore libero recorded a season-high 17 digs to lead all Thunderbirds, nearly doubling the nine total digs of Talea Berry and Kaitlyn Barnes, who tied for second.
Quick Start, Late Grit Win Third Set
Southern Utah came into the third frame on fire, jumping out to a 6-1 lead as it looked to force a fourth set and stave off elimination. After giving up the next two points to Utah Tech, the Thunderbirds responded with a 4-1 scoring run on the strength of a kill and a solo block by Natalie Moore on back-to-back plays. Even as the Trailblazers fought back to take a 21-19 advantage, the Thunderbirds remained calm and put together a 4-1 scoring run to take the lead back before Ryen Smith ended the set with her fifth kill of the match.
Defense Continues to Come Up Big
The Thunderbirds recorded nine total blocks as a team to extend their season-best streak of five-block matches to four in a row while the back line recorded a season-second-best 58 total digs for the team's fifth straight outing with at least 30. It was the first time in Big Sky play that the Thunderbirds held an opponent below .200 hitting as Utah Tech only managed to reach .187 on the night, making it just the second time in five matches that the Trailblazers have been kept from reaching the .200 mark
Up Next
Southern Utah will return home to host its first Big Sky match of the season when Northern Colorado comes to Cedar City on Saturday, Oct. 3 at noon MT.
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