The Southern Utah University Thunderbirds volleyball team played at home for the first time this season on Friday, Sept. 18, and Saturday, Sept. 19, in the America First Event Center. They hosted a two-game series against Chicago State University and the University of California, Riverside.
The T-Birds claimed their first win of the season on Friday, beating CSU 3-0. With the win, Southern Utah snapped an eight-game losing streak that soured the start to the year.
The Thunderbirds faced off against UC Riverside in the last game before conference play starts. The match ended with the T-Birds getting swept after almost forcing a fourth set.
SUU now holds a record of 1-9 as conference play is set to begin next week. Their win against Chicago State was just the second time this year that they won two or more sets in a match.
Chicago State
Southern Utah jumped out to an early 17-5 first-set lead, fueled by kills from six different players. The Cougars managed to slow the T-Birds’ momentum, but SUU still fought and dominated the set with a score of 25-11.
Chicago State was able to keep pace with the Thunderbirds early in the second set, trading back-and-forth scores to tie the score at 11-11. Southern Utah found some rhythm and broke out on an 11-3 run, nearly winning the second set with ease.
The Cougars then fought back, going on an 8-2 run. The Thunderbirds were able to pull off the second-set 25-22 win on an Audrey Atwood kill.
Southern Utah had a slow start to the third set, getting outscored 4-1 before finding traction to tie it up. The T-Birds then took control of the set and never trailed again.
SUU middle blocker Natalie Moore took charge, sending home five kills and scoring two of the last three points of the match. Southern Utah closed out the set by securing a 25-22 score and their first win of the season.
Chicago State now holds an 0-12 record on the year and is yet to win a single set all season.
UC Riverside
Both teams started rough, with eight of the game’s 12 total service errors coming in this set. The teams stayed even from there as Southern Utah gained a small 13-12 edge.
The Highlanders generated momentum on a 5-0 run as an attempted comeback for the Thunderbirds failed. SUU lost the first set 25-21.
The Thunderbirds started the second set with three blocks and back-to-back kills from Kaitlyn Hoelker, helping them build a 10-7 lead. Riverside surged forward, going on a 12-3 run, which helped them take the set 25-16.
The third set was action-packed, with both teams trading small runs of three to four points. The Thunderbirds led 14-13 when the Highlanders broke out on an 8-1 run that had them leading 21-15 and on the cusp of winning the third set.
The Thunderbirds found some ground and went on a 6-1 run that almost forced a fourth set, but Riverside was able to win the set and claim the victory.
Up next
SUU will begin conference play when they face Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Ariz., on Thursday, Sept. 24. The game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. and can be streamed live on ESPN+.
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Author: Andrew Streeter
Photograph by SUU Athletics
Editor: Payson Davis
