The Southern Utah University volleyball team had a tough showing on the night of Sept. 12. At the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, they suffered a 3-0 defeat, losing each set 25-16, 25-21 and 25-18.
The first set was close until the Rebels ran away with it. Once the teams were tied at nine, UNLV went on a 5-0 run to gain their momentum and never looked back.
The second set had much of the same. For all but the first three points, the Thunderbirds trailed behind the Rebels. SUU went on a 7-2 run in a last-ditch effort to bring their total up to 21 but were unable to finish the comeback.
Southern Utah ran out of steam by the final set, this time trailing behind UNLV from start to finish. It took until the Rebels had scored four points before the Thunderbirds even found themselves on the scoreboard. The Rebels tacked on an exclamation point to the victory by scoring their final point off a kill by Gabrielle Arretche-Ramos.
The Thunderbirds’ standout players were Teniyah Leuluai and Madison Walker. Leuluai set up the team with 14 assists, bringing her season total to 234. She now sits at sixth in the Western Athletic Conference. Walker was the scoring leader for SUU with seven points, each of them resulting from kills.
SUU now has a record of 3-5. They are tied for eighth in the WAC with conference play starting next week.
What’s next?
Southern Utah still has a chance to turn the week around with two home games this weekend. They will play Marshall University on Sept. 15 at 6:30 p.m. and the University of Idaho on Sept. 16 at 12 p.m. Both games can be streamed on ESPN+.
Story by: Anden Garfield
Photo by: SUU Athletics
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