CEDAR CITY – Playing host to Abilene Christian on Saturday afternoon, SUU volleyball fell 3-1 to Abilene Christian.
The Thunderbirds took an early lead in set one, jumping out to a 5-1 lead. ACU would claw its way back, tying things up at 11. SUU would answer with three straight points to make it 14-11, and moments later, the Wildcats tied it up again at 15-15. The T-birds would once again answer with a 3-0 spurt to push the score to 18-15, but Abilene notched nine of the next 14 points to get ahead 24-22. Southern Utah would score the next two points to even the score, but ACU recorded the final two points to take the set, 26-24.
Set two was all Thunderbirds, as the home team only trailed after the first point. SUU would lead by as many as six points, ultimately winning the set 25-20 to even the match at 1-1.
The T-birds took an early 6-2 lead in the third set, but a 7-2 run by ACU put the visitors up 9-8. Both teams would trade points and were tied at 14, but the Wildcats recorded five straight points to make it 19-14. Southern Utah was unable to get closer than four, and a 4-0 spurt by ACU to end the set gave them a 25-17 set win and a 2-1 match advantage.
SUU took a 4-1 lead early in set four, pushing its lead further to 13-9 just minutes later. The T-birds would keep their four-point advantage until it was 19-15, where a 5-0 ACU run put the visitors ahead late, 20-19. The set remained tight the rest of the way, setting up a 25-25 tie. Abilene Christian would notch the final two points, however, to take the set 27-25 and win the match 3-1.
With the defeat, the T-birds drop to 2-16 overall (1-6 WAC) and have lost four straight.
Amaya Tobias led the Thunderbirds in kills in the loss with 11, while Asya Akbulut tallied a team-high 25 assists.
Up next
Southern Utah (2-16, 1-6 WAC) is on the road for the next three matches, beginning with in-state foe Utah Valley on Thursday, Oct. 30.
First serve is set for 6 p.m. MT and can be seen on ESPN+.
Photo courtesy of SUU Athletics.
