The Southern Utah University women’s volleyball team was back in action this week as they traveled to take on the University of Texas at Arlington on Thursday, Oct. 4, They returned home to face Utah Tech on Saturday, Oct. 6. Southern Utah lost 3-1 to the Mavericks, but bounced back at home to beat the Trailblazers 3-1.
Match versus UT Arlington
The Mavericks came out on fire dominating the pace of play and showing why they are 13-2 and undefeated in the Western Athletic Conference. UTA controlled most of the first set, and came out on top 25-15.
The Mavericks came out hot in the second set going on an 8-0 run. Southern Utah struggled containing the serves, committing four different serving errors and lost the second set 25-14.
It seemed as though the Mavericks were going to accomplish a clean sweep until SUU found themselves with the lead in the third set. Finley Charapata and Molly McDermott combined for seven kills and led Southern Utah to the 25-19 win in set three.
Efforts by the Thunderbirds to tie the series were valiant but ended up short in a loss 25-14. Brianna Ford electrified the night with some outstanding play with four of her 19 kills in the fourth set and gave UTA the 3-1 win to remain undefeated in conference play.
Match vs. Utah Tech
Utah Tech entered the matchup at 9-4 on a three-game win streak including a 3-0 sweep against Utah Valley University. SUU enters with a record of 6-8 fresh off the loss to UT Arlington.
The Thunderbirds started the game off red-hot quickly establishing a five-point lead and held that lead for the majority of the period which resulted in the Thunderbirds winning the first set 25-20.
Set two was just as dominant for SUU. Victoria Zebecchi and Carissa Richie combined for nine kills and gave Southern Utah the 2-0 lead heading into set three.
Momentum seemed to shift as the Trailblazers got out to a 14-7 lead off of a pair of kills from Casidy Fried. Southern Utah cut the lead to four but Hannah Howard finished off the set with a pair of kills to win the set 25-18 making the series 2-1 for SUU.
Set four was neck and neck the entire match, both teams going back and forth. Neither team saw a lead greater than three. With Southern Utah down 24-23, the Thunderbirds capitalized on a pair of attacking errors, followed by a Charapata kill securing the SUU 3-1 win.
After the week, Southern Utah is 7-8 overall and 3-1 in the WAC.
Author: Preston Ferry
Photographer: Gannon Lovisa
Editor: Jack Paul
