Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
at Southern Utah
'Cats fall on road to T-Birds
11/16/2010 2:15:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
The Weber State University women's volleyball team saw its mastery of in-state rival Southern Utah end at the Centrum Arena on Monday night as the Wildcats came up short in a 3-0 (25-23, 25-14, 25-22) battle with the Thunderbirds.
Freshman left side hitter Piper Wahlin had six kills and 10 digs for Weber State, while sophomore middle blocker Carissa Noble had six kills and two blocks and sophomore left side hitter Bethany Wray added six kills and seven digs for Weber State.
Junior libero Nina Blake had 16 digs for Weber State, which dropped to 3-26 overall with the loss.
The Thunderbirds claimed a nail-biting first-set victory, one that featured 15 ties and seven lead changes. Weber State led 17-16 and was tied at 20, 22 and 23 before Southern Utah won the final two points to take the 1-0 lead match. Wahlin led Weber State with four kills in the set, while Wray had three and Blake had eight digs.
SUU extended its lead to 2-0, jumping out to a 3-0 lead early in the second set. WSU rallied to take a 6-5 lead, but the Thunderbirds rode a 20-8 burst to the 11-point victory. SUU outhit WSU .267 to .091 in the set.
Southern Utah again shot out the gates in the third set and appeared to be on its way to an easy win after staking out a 15-9 lead, but Weber State came roaring back to cut the deficit to 15-14. The Wildcats battled to keep it close, but ultimately came up just short in falling.
The win is Southern Utah's first in six tries against Weber State, cutting the all-time series deficit to 5-1.
Next up for Weber State is the Wildcats final road trip, and matches, of the 2010 season this weekend. Weber State will travel to Missoula, Mont., on Friday to face the University of Montana at 7 p.m. at West Auxiliary Gym and then faces Montana State at 7 p.m. on Friday at Shroyer Gym in Bozeman, Mont.
