After their 10-17 season, the Southern Utah University Volleyball Team earned the 6-seed in the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament. Their first opponent was in-state rival Utah Valley University. The Thunderbirds fought hard but lost the game 1-3 to end the 2024 season.
Game recap
Southern Utah got to work fast in the first set and exchanged points with the Wolverines. Momentum started swaying as Utah Valley quickly took a small lead, but Victoria Zibecchi did not let that last for long, as she had a run that tied the game at 19. The rest of the set was a battle and each point was hard earned. At the end of the set, UVU came out on top with a final score of 25-23.
The beginning of the second was controlled by SUU. At the halfway mark, they had a five-point lead until the Wolverines suddenly changed the momentum and scored five straight points. With some quick adjustments and a few incredible plays up front, the Thunderbirds regained the lead and never looked back. They won the second set 25-21.
Utah Valley could not be shaken and went up 9-6 early. SUU trailed throughout the middle of the set, but were able to cut the deficit near the end and tied it at 23. However, Utah Valley scored two quick points to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
After opening with a 5-5 tie, the Wolverines took the lead by scoring the next four points with the help of hitting errors by Southern Utah. Carissa Richie got a few blocks at the net to get the team back in the game, but it was not enough. Utah Valley earned their biggest lead of the match off a 6-1 run, raising the score to 15-9.
Southern Utah refused to give up and cut down UVU’s lead to three points. However, Utah Valley stayed resilient and scored five more points to win the set 25-17. They took a 3-1 victory in the first round and advanced to the semi-finals, ending Southern Utah’s season.
Author: Jacob McQueary
Photography: Gannon Lovisa
Editor: Jack Paul
