SUU Athletic Strategic Communications
After almost a week off from their impressive showing at the Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic in Colorado, the Thunderbirds took the court again against Utah State.
Despite falling in four-sets to a good Aggie team, Southern Utah played some promising volleyball. The highlight of the night was MaCail Evans who had one of the best matches of her career with 17 kills, one error, a .467 hitting percentage, and five blocks.
Both teams came out playing some impressive volleyball in the first set. Southern Utah finished the set with a .279 hitting percentage and Utah State was not far behind with a .224 hitting percentage. Things were neck and neck the entire set. The largest advantage any team ever gained wa a 23-20 for the Thunderbirds. It was at that point, though, the the Aggies turned up the heat and eventually won the set 26-24.
In the second set, Utah State was hard to stop. With the score tied at 9-9, the Aggies won the next point and never trailed again in the set. They claimed a 2-0 set lead by winning the second set 25-18.
The third set was the time to shine for the Thunderbirds. Along with the powerful offense from Evans, Janet Kalaniuvalu recorded 11 kills and Macky Fifita picked up a double-double with 11 kills and 15 digs. With the score tied up at 16-16, two service aces from Elisa Lago and three combined kills from Fifita and Evans allowed Southern Utah to go on a 5-0 run. The Thunderbirds never looked back and won the third set 25-20.
In the final set, both teams found themselves tied up at 10-10. Then, the Aggies went on a 6-0 run to go up 16-10. They were greatly aided in this attack by outside hitter, Kayla DeCoursey. Decoursey hit 17 kills for the match along with a .421 hitting percentage. In the end, Utah State won the set 25-17 winning the match in four sets.
Other notable performances in the match for Southern Utah came from Lago and Alaire Anderson. Lago bombed a total of four services aces for the match and Anderson had double digits in the digs column with 14.
The Thunderbirds will be back in action this Thursday for a home match against North Dakota at 7 p.m. MT.
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