The Southern Utah University women’s volleyball team snapped a five-game losing streak and moved to 2-12 on the season in a 3-2 defeat of California Baptist University on Saturday, Oct. 4.
SUU moves to 1-2 in the Western Athletic Conference, while CBU falls to 5-11 with a conference record of 1-3.
It was SUU’s first five-set game and first win since the Lumberjack Classic on Sept. 12.
Set one
SUU started with a commanding 10-3 run including six service aces. Grad student libero Aleeya Jones recorded four aces in a row.
Their hot streak eventually turned into a massive 20-10 lead. The T-Birds ended the set on a 15-7 run which saw just two points given up to kills. They had a dominant first showing, winning 25-13.
Set two
While SUU fell into an 0-3 deficit to begin the set, they got back to 4-3 after some misplays by the Lancers.
The teams traded points back and forth until SUU jumped out to 13-10, the largest lead since the beginning of the set.
Both teams went on an 11-11 stretch to make it 24-21. After a pair of attacking errors, SUU won the second set 25-23 when CBU outside hitter Emery DeJong hit the ball into the net during a serve.
Despite the costly error, DeJong had a strong match. The sophomore from Mount Vernon, Washington had 18 kills and seven digs overall.
Set three
The set started off close again, with neither team taking a lead of more than one until SUU led 7-5. The Lancers then scored four straight points to take a two-point lead of their own.
The T-Birds eventually got back in the game with a small lead, then fell behind until the score was 16-20.
After a timeout, two SUU kills and a flurry of blocks from both sides left the score 23-23. CBU then ended the set with two straight kills to win 25-23 and cut the match deficit to 2-1.
Victoria Zibecchi had many clutch moments for SUU throughout the match. The senior from Villa Angela, Argentina had 14 kills in total.
Set four
The fourth set also started with neck-and-neck scoring, and neither team led by more than two until SUU fell to a 13-16 deficit.
CBU went on a 9-2 run after that to end the set, winning 25-15 and forcing a fifth. This was SUU’s least aggressive and least accurate set. Both of the final CBU points came from attacking errors by outside hitter Addyson McArthur and Zibecchi.
McArthur and Zibecchi led the game with seven errors apiece, but McArthur had a strong showing. The junior from Colorado Springs had 12 kills and six digs.
Set five
The final set was close as SUU jumped to a 6-3 lead, then led 8-5 as the teams switched sides.
SUU had looked in danger of losing a 2-0 lead to start the match, but they took the advantage early in the fifth set and didn’t relinquish it. They went on a 4-1 run to end the match and finished it off with a service ace and letting CBU commit an attacking error.
The T-Birds won the fifth set 15-10 and outscored the Lancers by seven points over the match. SUU had 11 service aces to CBU’s three and cut down on errors compared to previous games. SUU didn’t lead in most counting stats throughout but still got a much-needed win.
Top SUU players
— Asya Akbulut had 23 assists and 10 digs
—Jones recorded 13 digs, five assists, five aces
— Swayzee Mason finished with 15 assists, seven digs, two aces and one kill
— McArthur had 12 kills, six digs, two blocks and an ace
Up next
SUU starts a Texas road trip with games on Thursday, Oct. 9 at 5 p.m. versus Abilene Christian University and Saturday, Oct. 11 at noon versus Tarleton State University. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.
Author: Payson Davis
Photographer: SUU Athletics
Editor: Jack Paul
