In their second conference match this week, the Thunderbird volleyball team squared off against the Bengals of Idaho State. Idaho State came through to win the match in three sets.
The match began with a tense first set. The Bengals were in control most of the set, but Southern Utah kept finding ways to fight back and bring the score back close. MaCail Evans played large role for the Thunderbirds. She was deadly efficient as always producing seven kills and only two errors. However, it wasn’t enough in the end as Idaho State pulled ahead at the end of the set to win it 25-21.
The Bengals carried the momentum from their first set victory with them throughout the match. They put up a .314 hitting percentage in the second set. Even with 20 digs in a great defensive effort from senior, Macky Fifita, it wasn’t enough to stop the offensive onslaught. Idaho State won the second set 25-17.
Idaho State jumped ahead to a giant 21-10 in the third set. It looked as if they were ready to wrap things up quickly, but it wasn’t over yet. The Thunderbirds went on a 10-1 run to bring the score to 20-22.
Despite that, the Bengals were able to hang on and finish out the set with a 3-0 run to win it 25-20.
Kalaniuvalu led the team in kills with nine for the night. Furthermore, Anna Cox was a formidable presence at the net on defense. She accumulated a total of seven blocks for the night.
Southern Utah will be back at home next week for more conference play against the University of Idaho and Eastern Washington. The match against University of Idaho will be at 7 p.m. MT Thursday night. On Saturday, Southern Utah will be taking the court against Eastern Washington at 11:30 a.m. MT.
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Story By
SUU Athletic Strategic Communications
