The Southern Utah University volleyball team got their second conference win of the year in straight sets against Idaho State University (18-25, 22-25, 20-25).
Coming off of five straight losses, the Thunderbirds started out strong, taking a 20-11 lead and closing out the first set 25-18.
The second set started with a 4-0 run by the T-Birds, doing a nice job fending off any runs by the Bengals. SUU would go on to win the second set 25-22.
The third set saw Idaho State jump out to a 15-11 lead but a pair of attacking errors by the Bengals sparked a 4-0 run for the T-birds and SUU never looked back.
The Thunderbirds would wrap up the sweep with a 25-20 win in the final set.
A great offensive outing for the hitters at Southern Utah, Stacey Hone led the team with nine total kills and had Reagan Ashby and Ronnie Robinson close behind with 8 and 7 kills respectively. Two other factors played an important role in the clean sweep of Idaho State — 5 serving aces for the T-birds and a total of 11 team blocks.
It was a huge win for SUU as it moved them into ninth place in the Big Sky Conference with a 2-5 conference record. With just under a month left until the postseason, they would need to move up to eighth place for a spot in the tournament. Even after the loss, ISU is currently in the eighth seed.
The Thunderbirds will hope to continue their good play with two more home games, first against the University of Montana on Oct. 21 and then Montana State University on Oct. 23.
Story By: Parker Haynie Sports@suunews.net
Photo Courtesy of SUU Athletics
