The Southern Utah University women’s volleyball team had a two-game road trip this week, on Thursday, Oct. 24, and Saturday, Oct. 26, against California Baptist University and Grand Canyon University. SUU lost both games 1-3, falling to 4-6 in the Western Athletic Conference.
Game one
The first set included many streaks by both sides. A couple 4-0 runs and strong scoring plays put the Thunderbirds up 15-11 at the half.. The Lancers began by responding with a 3-0 run of their own, then exchanging many points back and forth, eventually tying the set at 21. Southern Utah scored the last five points to win the set 25-22 and go up 1-0.
The Lancers wasted no time in the second set and quickly built a 15-6 lead going into the set’s midway timeout. The Thunderbirds could not gain any momentum after the break as CBU rallied off a 3-0 run and a 5-0 streak and claimed the set 25-11, tying the match at 1-1.
The Thunderbirds regained some confidence and exchanged points with the Lancers in the first half of the set and tied at 14-14. Then CBU began setting the tone with a 6-0. SUU responded with a 4-0 run, but could not get any stops after that, giving the Lancers the set 25-18 and a 2-1 lead in the match.
After more back-and-forth scoring to open the fourth, the Lancers caught heat again with an 8-0 streak giving them an 11-5 lead. The Thunderbirds fought back, then with a fast 3-0 run they were only down three points. Despite the effort, California Baptist did well closing out by winning six of the last eight points to win the fourth 25-18 and give them the 3-1 win.
Game two
The first set was competitive. After tying at 5, the Lopes’ Ellie Frey capped off a 6-1 GCU run that put the Lopes ahead 10-5. The Thunderbirds fought hard and kept it close for the rest of the set and tied the game at 24. Grand Canyon then scored two quick points to win the first set 26-24, and go up 1-0 in the match.
The second set was just like the first with a lot of back-and-forth scoring. Then GCU punched in a 7-3 run in the middle of the second set to lead 17-13. Southern Utah could not swing the momentum back in their favor and lost the set 25-14, falling 0-2 in the match.
The contested battle continued in the third as neither team was able to get a big scoring streak. The Lopes battled to the very end, but Andrea Spasojevic iced the set in a 25-22 win for the Thunderbirds, cutting GCU’s match lead to 2-1.
Around the midway mark in the fourth set, GCU was up 10-7. Then things went sideways for Southern Utah after they called a timeout due to multiple service errors which gave GCU a 12-8 lead. Unfortunately, the Thunderbirds continued making mistakes and the Lopes capitalized. Grand Canyon held the lead and closed the final set with a 25-19 win.
What’s Next?
Southern Utah will head home for their next game against Utah Valley University on Thursday, Oct. 31 at 6:30 p.m. This game can be streamed on ESPN+.
Author: Jacob McQueary
Photographer: Gannon Lovisa
Editor: Jack Paul
