By Spencer Rodak , Stadium Sportzz
CEDAR CITY – With both teams opening WAC play on Thursday, Utah Tech volleyball secured a straight-set sweep over rival SUU on the road.
Southern Utah began the first set with a 4-1 lead, but a 5-0 spurt from the Trailblazers made it 6-4. A pair of 4-0 runs later in the set further pushed the visitors ahead, as Utah Tech would roll to a 25-13 set victory and 1-0 match lead.
Set number two started with both teams keeping it close early, as the Trailblazers held a slim 7-6 lead. A 7-2 run would see Utah Tech increase its advantage to six (14-8), but a quick 3-0 SUU run would cut the lead to 14-11. It wouldn’t get closer than that, however, as a 9-1 Trailblazer run made it 23-12. The Thunderbirds would put together a late 4-0 run, but Utah Tech would notch the final point to win the set 25-17 and take a 2-0 match lead.
The third set was back-and-forth early, with both teams splitting the first 20 points (10-10). A 6-0 run would follow for the Trailblazers, putting the visitors up 16-10. It was a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, as Utah Tech finished the set on a 5-0 run to win 25-16 and complete the 3-0 match sweep.
Kennedi Knudsen led the Trailblazers in kills with 12 in the win. Tessa Treanor added a season-high 10 kills for Utah Tech, as the visitors edged SUU in kills (38-23), blocks (9-3), digs (46-36), and hitting percentage (.286 – -.048).
Amaya Tobias recorded 4 kills and a service ace in the loss for the T-birds.
With the win, Utah Tech improves to 10-3, including 1-0 in WAC play.
The loss sends the Thunderbirds to 1-11 on the season and 0-1 in conference action.
Trailblazers Coach Hafoka post-match
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6KCtllXoYeskZ9c7lDZoim?si=LeRl_fU-Sd2Gcev_f5MALA
Thunderbirds Coach Jensen post-match
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0zK8HEZT6Gq8nTD1k8mY9E?si=AnjzdcD7QBOELZsXE2Wq6Q
Up next: Utah Tech
The Trailblazers (10-3, 1-0 WAC) host Cal Baptist in their conference home opener on Thursday, Oct. 2.
First serve vs. the Lancers is set for 6 p.m. MT, while the match can be seen on ESPN+.
Up next: Southern Utah
SUU (1-11, 0-1 WAC) travels to Texas to battle defending WAC champion UT Arlington on Saturday, Sept. 27.
The match against the Mavericks is scheduled for a 12 p.m. MT first serve and can be seen on ESPN+.