CEDAR CITY, Utah – Opening the home schedule for the 2025 season, the SUU volleyball team was defeated in three matches over the weekend.
The Thunderbirds played their first home match on Thursday night, falling in five sets to UC Riverside.
SUU was also in action on Friday and Saturday at the America First Event Center. First, the T-birds fell 3-0 to Sacramento State before dropping a five-set contest to Charleston Southern.
Here are recaps of each of the three matches, beginning with Thursday’s result against the Highlanders.
Thursday vs. UC Riverside
Facing a Big West opponent to open its home schedule, SUU fell in a five-set battle on Thursday.
Set one featured mini runs for both teams, and the score was tied after 36 points (18-18). Riverside would take three of the next four points, however, giving them a cushion to win the set 25-23.
SUU would take an 18-14 lead in the second set, but four straight UCR points evened the score. With the score knotted at 20, the T-birds would end the set on a 5-1 spurt to take it 25-21, tying the match at 1-1.
Set three saw the Highlanders jump out to a 15-8 lead, and they never looked back. The Thunderbirds were able to cut the deficit to three on multiple occasions, but UC Riverside would win the set 25-21 to take a 2-1 match lead.
The fourth set was close early, with SUU holding a slim lead (11-10). A 5-0 run by the T-birds made it 16-10, and UCR could not recover. Ultimately, Southern Utah recorded a 25-15 set win, evening the match at 2-2 and sending it to a deciding fifth set.
UC Riverside jumped out to a 4-2 lead in set five, pushing its lead to 10-5 soon after SUU cut its lead to just one (6-5). That would prove to be enough, as the Highlanders won the set 15-10 to claim a 3-2 match victory.
Victoria Zibecchi led the T-birds in kills in the loss, tallying 15. Asya Akbulut added a team-high 28 assists.
Friday vs. Sacramento State
Southern Utah was no match for the reigning Big Sky champions in Friday’s match, falling in straight sets to the Hornets.
While Southern Utah had its moments, Sac State comfortably won each set.
In the win, the Hornets secured set victories of 25-17, 25-17, and 25-20.
Zibecchi again led the Thunderbirds in kills (11), while Akbulut led in assists with 14.
Saturday vs. Charleston Southern
Facing Charleston Southern of the Big South Conference to close out the weekend, the T-birds fell in a tight five-set battle (26-24, 25-20, 25-21, 25-20, 15-7).
Set one was deadlocked after 40 points (20-20), but SUU tallied the next two points to take a slim 22-20 lead. The Thunderbirds were able to make it 24-22, needing just one point to win the set. CSU would answer, however, ripping off a 4-0 run to win the set 26-24 and taking a 1-0 match lead.
Southern Utah would jump out to a 17-10 lead in set two, but the Buccaneers would storm back to cut the lead to just one (21-20). The T-birds then notched the next four points to win the set 25-20 and tied the match at one set apiece.
Set three was close, but SUU was able to maintain a slim lead through most of it. Charleston Southern kept it close, trailing just 21-19, but the Thunderbirds scored four of the final six points to win the set 25-21 and take a 2-1 match lead.
Southern Utah looked on its way to a set and match win early in set four, taking a seven-point lead (13-6). The Buccaneers would slowly chip away, though, going on a 9-1 run to go in front 20-17. SUU would cut the deficit to two (22-20), but CSU tallied the final three points to win the set 25-20 and tie the match at 2-2.
The fifth set was close early, as the two sides were deadlocked through 12 points (6-6). It wouldn’t last, however, as the Buccaneers went on an 8-0 run to make it 14-6, closing it out for a 15-7 set win and 3-2 match victory.
Zibecchi led the T-birds in kills in the loss (14), while Akbulut recorded a team-high 30 assists.
With the three weekend defeats at home, Southern Utah drops to 0-6 this season.
Up next
SUU (0-6) travels to Flagstaff, Arizona, to take part in the NAU Lumberjack Classic.
First, the T-birds will battle Texas Tech on Friday, Sept. 12, at 10 a.m. MT.
Southern Utah will also face UC San Diego (Friday at 4:30 p.m.) and host NAU (Saturday at 1 p.m.) in the tournament.
The match against the Lumberjacks on Saturday can be seen on ESPN+.
Photo courtesy of SUU Athletics.
