Utah Tech volleyball battled to the end in a five set loss to Southern Utah. 

What Head Coach Camilla Hafoka said: It was a hard fought match today, one play here or there and the results could've been different.
 
How it happened: The Trailblazers started off slow trailing to SUU 8-3 in the first set. The Thunderbirds pushed out to extend their lead 18-9. The Trailblazers gathered a little momentum at the end of the set going on a 4-1 run but SUU powered through to take a 25-16 win. 

The Trailblazers started the second set off with all the momentum thanks to an 11-5 lead. SUU brough the score within two but Bridgett Talia knocked down a kill to spark a 6-1 UT run. The Trailblazers ended the set with a 25-19 win. 

The third set, Utah Tech and Southern Utah matched each other point for point until the Thunderbirds went on a 7-1 run to steal the momentum. The TBirds pushed on and took a 20-13 lead. Utah Tech tried to put off a third set loss with a five point surge in the final points but couldn't finish as SUU took a 25-18 win. 

Utah Tech got a 9-5 jump on Southern Utah in the fourth set. The Trailblazers never gave up the lead throughout the entire fourth set and ended the set on a 6-0 run. A kill from Whittnee Nihipali sparked the 6-0 run. Talia had two kills and a block to contribute to the final points of the set and to end it all with a 25-14 score, Nihipali served up an ace. 

With the match all tied up at two sets each, the Trailblazers and Thunderbirds got ready for a fifth tiebreaking set. 

Southern Utah started the fifth set with three consecutive points. Utah Tech answered with four points including a block by Sunny Brown,  a kill from Hannah Howard, and a kill by Taela Laufiso. The T-Birds were the first to hit the eight point milestone to force the court switch. Utah Tech had another three point reach that tied the fifth set up 12-12. SUU finished the match with three straight points to end the set 15-12 and five set match win. 

Killin' It: Utah Tech was led by Howard who had 14  kills from 34  attacks with five errors for a .265 percentage. Kate Hardy recorded 12 kills from 27 total attacks with just one error for an impressive .407 percentage. Nihipali was the last Trailblazer to hit double digit kills with 11 from 38 attacks for a .237 percentage. 

In total, Utah Tech had 57 kills with 22 errors from 170 attacks for a .206 percentage. 

Taela Laufiso led the Trailblazers with 44  assists on the afternoon for the team high. 

Diggin' it:  Utah Tech had four Trailblazers with double figures in digs. Emma Ricks led with 15 digs on the night. Nihipali and Laufiso recorded double doubles as they each posted 13 digs. Mykenna Nelson rounded things out with 13 digs as well. 

In total, UT has 73 digs on the match. 

Notes to know: Utah Tech is now 10-9 overall on the season and 4-6 in WAC action. 

Next Up: The Trailblazers will host two final home games this season in California Baptist on Nov. 3 and Grand Canyon on Nov. 5 for senior weekend. The final regular season games of the year will be Nov. 10 and 12th at UT Arlington and Stephen F. Austin.