In a high-scoring rematch, the Southern Utah University women’s volleyball team lost 3-1 against Abilene Christian University on Saturday, Oct. 25 at the America First Event Center.
SUU fell to 2-16 with a Western Athletic Conference record of 1-6, and has lost four in a row. ACU improves to 9-14 on the season with a 3-5 WAC record.
Set one
SUU jumped out to an early 5-1 lead, but the score became tied at 11-11 after a 10-6 ACU run.
The rest of the set was back and forth; SUU went up three points, then ACU equalized. SUU went up three again, then ACU tied it up again.
With the score at 20-20, the teams traded points until reaching a 24-24. An ACU kill and an attack error by SUU put the set away, 26-24. The Wildcats ended the set on a 10-6 run, barely pulling ahead of the T-Birds, taking a 1-0 lead.
Set two
SUU was first to take a three-point lead, with an 8-5 advantage after an Amaya Tobias service ace.
Their lead grew to five points at 18-13. While ACU stayed competitive, their only lead of the set came from the first point.
The T-Birds sealed the set victory with a kill from Tobias, winning 25-20. The assist came from middle blocker Ajia Hughes with her first of the year.
Third set
After allowing two points early from an attack error and service ace, SUU had a strong run with six straight points that included four kills.
Like they had been doing all match, ACU tied it up with four straight points of their own. The score went back and forth again until the teams reached a 14-14 tie.
The Wildcats then went on a 7-1 run, including four kills, and capped it off with a service ace.
SUU scored two consecutive points thanks to ACU errors, but a combination of kills from outside hitter Annaleise Sevier and T-Bird attack errors gave ACU the 25-17 win.
Set four
SUU began strong, with a pair of blocks and an Ezgi Kucuk service ace putting them up 4-1 as they looked to force a fifth set.
SUU stayed ahead for almost the entire set, and a 6-3 run put them up 15-11. For the rest of the set, though, they didn’t score consecutive points.
After scoring to go up 19-15, SUU allowed five straight points to give ACU their first lead of the game since the set’s first point.
The teams exchanged blows as neither pulled ahead by more than one point until the score was 25-25. ACU setter Rachel Koss had a big kill right after having a bad set, and an attack error from Kucuk gave ACU the set and the match, 27-25 and 3-1.
Top T-Birds
— Tobias had a career game, leading SUU with a career-high 11 kills and notching six blocks and two aces.
— Asya Akbulut had her best assist game in over a month with 25, and recorded four digs and just one error.
— Victoria Zibecchi recorded nine kills, four blocks and four digs.
— Freshman Swayzee Mason notched 12 assists alongside eight digs and a kill, her second of the month.
Up next
SUU starts a three-game road trip on Thursday, Oct. 30 versus Utah Valley University. Their last matchup resulted in a 3-0 win for the Wolverines. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Author: Payson Davis
Photographer: SUU Athletics
Editor: Jack Paul