Concluding a less-than-fortunate season, the Southern Utah University women’s volleyball team lost 3-1 in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference tournament to Utah Tech University on Thursday, Nov. 20.
Counting the tournament game, SUU ends with a 3-21 record, their lowest win total in a season in team history. They had a 2-10 WAC record.
Utah Tech has a 20-5 record on the season with a WAC record of 10-2. They will face Tarleton State University on Nov. 21, with the winner of that match advancing to the final against either Utah Valley University or Abilene Christian University.
First set
SUU came out looking to extend their season, building an early 10-4 lead with six points coming from Utah Tech attacking errors.
The Trailblazers managed to cut the lead to one, but the T-Birds went on a 7-3 run capped off by a Swayzee Mason ace to go up 19-14.
Utah Tech stormed back, scoring six straight points to hold the advantage for the first time all set. SUU responded swiftly, ending with a 6-2 run to win the set 25-22 and take a promising lead.
This was one of SUU’s most accurate sets all year, with 12 kills on 38 attacks and just two errors while Utah Tech committed nine errors.
Second set
The teams were even to start the set, trading points until Utah Tech led 5-4.
The Trailblazers then went on a huge 12-1 run, with SUU’s only point coming from a Utah Tech service error.
SUU scored two of the next three points, but Utah Tech ended on a 7-1 run, giving them a comfortable 25-8 set victory.
SUU struggled with errors, recording nine with just six kills while staying just as aggressive on offense as the first set. Utah Tech was able to stand back and capitalize on SUU mistakes to even up the match.
Third set
Both teams entered the set strong, with neither going up by more than three points as the score eventually reached 19-19.
A kill from Amaya Tobias then gave SUU the lead. This set saw the lead switch sides six times, more than the other three sets combined.
Utah Tech then scored five straight points, with three coming from SUU errors. Kaitlyn Aleshire got a kill to cut the lead to three, but a service error by Asya Akbulut gave Utah Tech the set, 25-21.
Fourth set
With SUU facing elimination and Utah Tech looking to advance, both teams seemed to lose the handle on the ball. 12 of the first 16 points of the match came from errors as the Trailblazers took a 10-6 lead.
SUU kept the game close, scoring three straight points to make the score 15-11. From there, Utah Tech’s offense was too much for the T-Birds to bear. The Trailblazers ended the set on a 10-2 run, capping off the set with an ace to win 25-13 and take the tournament match.
This was the second set of the game where SUU had more errors than kills. Both teams attempted fewer attacks in this set than any other, as Utah Tech made the necessary adjustments to advance to the second round.
Top T-Birds
— Akbulut led the team in assists with 20 and also notched four digs and a kill.
— Addyson McArthur tied a team lead with 10 kills while also recording eight digs, two assists and an ace.
— Tobias notched a team-high 27.8% hitting percentage and recorded six kills, five blocks and five digs.
— Victoria Zibecchi had a team-high 10 kills and six blocks to go along with six digs and her lowest error total since Nov. 6.
Season leaders
— Zibecchi led the team with 220 kills and 255.5 points. She was one of four players to appear in a team-high 92 sets and one of seven to play in all 24 games.
— Akbulut was the T-Birds’ assist leader, with her mark of 455 nearly 200 more than second-place Mason. No other player had more than 44.
— Tobias was the most accurate player on the team with a hitting percentage of 19.5%. She also led the team with 83 blocks and 25 solo blocks.
— Aleeya Jones led SUU with 22 aces and 236 digs. She tied a school record with five aces in a single match.
— All-WAC Freshman Team member Kaitlyn Hoelker was the only T-Bird to receive votes to an all-conference team. She was second on the team in kills.
Departures
Aija Hughes, Ezgi Kucuk, Teniyah Leuluai, Jones and Zibecchi will be graduating after this season. Despite losing some notable players, SUU has a bright future. Freshmen Amanda Mendoza, Hoelker and Mason made big impacts in their first year.
Author: Payson Davis
Photographer: SUU Athletics
Editor: Heather Turner
