Women's Volleyball 9/7/2014 1:59:00 PM

Volleyball Falters In Southern Utah Tournament

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3

CEDAR CITY, Utah – After a stellar beginning to the 2014 season, the Savannah State volleyball team fell in three games on their first road test at the Southern Utah Tournament in Cedar City, Utah.

The Lady Tigers opened the two-day trip against host school Southern Utah and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore on Friday. They closed out the trip against the University of California Riverside on Saturday.

Southern Utah opened the first set against SSU with a 10-3 run. The Lady Tigers, led by Gabrielle Nathanial, bounced back with a 6-1 run, capped by a service ace from Lynae Bryant to cut the home team's lead to 11-9.

Out of a timeout, the Thunderbirds regained control going up 20-11. SSU managed only a single point down the stretch on a kill from Christian Lyle, as Southern Utah took a 1-0 lead with a 25-12 set win.

The Thunderbirds carried over their momentum into the second set, winning 25-11 for a 2-0 lead into the third set. SSU struggled to bounce back in the final set as Southern Utah sealed up its fourth victory of the season with a 25-7 set win.

Newcomver Zariya Thomas led the Lady Tigers with four kills. Justice Dilworth registered three kills and led in digs with six. Madi Forsythe led the Thunderbirds with nine kills, while Sariah Pelaez led in digs with 10.

SSU faced off with fellow Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) school Maryland Eastern Shore Friday afternoon in a nonconference game.

The Lady Tigers struggled out of the gate against the MEAC Northern Division team, going down 12-25 in the opening set. The second set quickly became a runaway for UMES, as they went up 17-3 midway through, and closed out a set win with a 25-8 score.

Midway through the third set, UMES held a 12-7 lead, but the Lady Tigers managed to hang on for a little while longer, putting up 15 points in the loss.

SSU was led by Dilworth with four kills. Olivia Wasdin led in digs with eight. Alana Polk led the Lady Hawks with eight kills. Ashley smith led in digs with 11.

On Saturday, the Lady Tigers closed out against the University of California Riverside in the first meeting of the two programs.

SSU fell 8-25 in the opening set, but bounced back with two stronger sets, losing 14-25 and 15-25, falling to 2-3 on the season.

Nathaniel led the Lady Tigers in the final game with four kills. Elexius Harris and Alexis Washington led the team in digs with seven apiece. Helena Peric led UC Riverside with nine kills. Maddie Hubbell led in digs with 16.

The Lady Tigers travel to Montgomery, Alabama for their second tournament of the season. They are set to face off against The Citadel and host Alabama State on September 11. On September 12 they play Southeast Missouri State, and Towson to close out the tournament.

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