After taking the first game in Cedar City, Utah, Utah Tech University got the best of the Southern Utah University women’s volleyball team 3-1 on Monday, Oct. 20. With the loss, SUU drops to 8-11 overall and 4-4 in the Western Athletic Conference.
The Thunderbirds came out hot, going 10-7 behind a pair of aces from Finley Charapata. From then on, it was all Trailblazers. Tessa Treanor and Lusia Langi dominated, helping Utah Tech go on a 15-2 run.
SUU and UTU traded points late, leading to a 25-15 win.
The second set was much closer than the first. Southern Utah got out to an early 10-9 lead from a pair of kills from Kennady Charlton, Amaya Tobias, and Charapata. Utah Tech answered back behind Hannah Howard and Treanor.
Late in the match, Utah Tech tied things at 22 off of two Southern Utah errors. Charlton answered back with an ace and a kill and a Treanor attacking error gave Southern Utah the 25-22 win.
For the third straight set, the Thunderbirds got out to a quick lead. After going up 4-0, it was all Utah Tech from there on out. The Trailblazers only allowed 10 more points over the rest of the set and Utah tech won 25-14 taking a 2-1 lead.
Set four was close but mainly controlled by Utah Tech. Eight of the first nine UTU points were scored off SUU errors. The Thunderbirds tried to keep things close, closing the gap to two points behind a Charapata ace and kill, but the Trailblazers were too much.
Treanor finished Southern Utah off, winning the set 25-22 and securing the 3-1 win.
Key statistics
— Kennedi Knudsen led the Trailblazers with 15 kills.
— Teniyah Leuluai finished with 30 assists.
— Charapata finished the match with 15 kills and five aces.
What’s next?
Southern Utah continues their road trip when they travel to Riverside, California to take on California Baptist University on Thursday, Oct. 24, at 8 p.m. This match can be streamed on ESPN+.
Author: Jack Paul
Photographer: Gannon Lovisa
Editor: SUU News Copy Editor
