By Spencer Rodak, Stadium Sportzz
Opening Western Athletic Conference action at home on Thursday night, the T-birds snapped a three-match losing streak with a victory over Tarleton State.
The opening set was back and forth early, but a 4-0 run by the Texans put the visitors ahead 10-7. SUU responded by notching four of the next five points, evening the score at 11. The set continued to be close from there, with the Texans taking a slim 15-14 lead. Southern Utah answered with a 4-0 spurt to jump ahead 18-15, but Tarleton State kept it close and cut the home team’s lead to 20-19. The T-birds would be the team to get the final run of the match, recording five of the following six points to win the set 25-20 and take a 1-0 match lead.
Set number two was similar to the first, and the two teams remained deadlocked after 30 points (15-15). The Texans were finally able to creep ahead 19-18, but a 6-2 run by SUU put the home team one point away from a set win (24-21). Instead, Tarleton State answered with three straight points, once again evening the score. Tied at 24, a quick point from the T-birds and an error from the Texans gave SUU a 26-24 set win and a 2-0 match advantage.
The third set was all Southern Utah, as the home team ran out to a 13-4 lead. Tarleton State was never able to get closer than five points (13-8) from there, and the T-birds ended the set on a 6-1 run to win 25-13 and secure a 3-0 match sweep.
Andrea Spasojevic led the way for the T-birds in kills, tallying nine in the win. Teniyah Leuluai added 33 assists in the victory, continuing her fantastic season to this point.
Up next
SUU (5-7, 1-0 WAC) will cap the week off with a home match against Abilene Christian on Saturday, September 28. The match will begin at 1 p.m. MT and can be seen on ESPN+.