On Saturday, Oct. 14, the game between the Utah Valley University Wolverines and the Southern Utah University Thunderbirds ended with a 3-0 victory for the Wolverines.
The Thunderbirds suffered their second consecutive loss, bringing their overall record to 5-12. Meanwhile, the Wolverines secured their third straight win, putting them at 8-12 on the season.
The first point of the first set was secured by UVU through a block. Although SUU managed to get the second point, UVU’s blocking and killing left SUU struggling to respond, resulting in an early 12-3 lead. Despite Southern Utah’s efforts to catch up, they fell 25-17, and Utah Valley took the first set. UVU had 13 kills in the set, led by Avery Shewell’s five.
In the second set, SUU’s performance remained cold. UVU started with a brilliant blocking strategy, led by Hailey Cuff, that built an 8-1 lead. Later, SUU began to respond and attempted a comeback. With consecutive spikes from Andrea Spasojevic, the Thunderbirds managed to narrow the gap to 13-8. However, UVU quickly adjusted, with Cuff and Shewell guiding the Wolverines to maintain their lead. The final score of the second set was 25-15 with UVU on top.
The third set was highly competitive. Utah Valley had a strong start under the leadership of Tori Ellis, who had two early kills. However, consecutive points by Spasojevic allowed SUU to find their rhythm. Later, the Thunderbirds went on a 7-0 run, giving them a substantial 13-7 lead. UVU quickly adjusted their game, and after an intense battle, the score was tied at 23-23. With SUU’s final ball going out of bounds, the Wolverines secured a 25-23 victory in the set. They won the match 3-0, defeating Southern Utah.
Up next
SUU will play against the University of Texas, Arlington Mavericks on Thursday, Oct 19. The game will start at 6:30 p.m. in the America First Event Center.
Author: Shengbo Zhou
Photos courtesy of SUU Athletics
Editor: Anden Garfield
sports@suunews.net
