Weber State (7-5-2, 3-0-1, 10 points) outshot Southern Utah (4-7-2, 1-2-1, 4 points) by 13-6 overall and 7-2 in shots on goal. But the Wildcats couldn’t break through until the 72nd minute when Lily Blum took a quick turn on an Isabelle Dahl pass and fired with her left foot, going top-right corner past a diving Tatum Trout to give WSU the lead.

SUU challenged that lead soon after when a foul in the box against Emery Jacobs gave Southern Utah a penalty kick in the 84th minute. Gracen Blieschke had the attempt for the Thunderbirds and went low right, where Butorac dove and cleared the ball, then made a kick save on a rebound attempt (uncredited in the box score).

Weber State is one point clear of Utah Tech in first place; the Trailblazers are 3-0 outside the 5-0 loss they took last week at WSU.

The Wildcats next hit the road for a Thursday afternoon match at Portland State (2-9, 0-2, 0 points) and a Sunday afternoon date at Montana (3-7, 1-1, 3 points).

WSU 3, SUU 1

In volleyball action, Weber State bounced back from a loss at first-place Utah Tech with a 3-1 victory at Southern Utah on Saturday, a win that needed extra points to keep it from a fifth set. Scores were 25-20, 23-25, 25-17, 28-26.

Weber State trailed 15-7 in the fourth set but rallied 13-3 to close the gap at 18-18. A Lexie Carlson kill and an SUU error staved off two set points after the T-Birds went up 24-22.

SUU had another set point at 26-25 when Stacia Barker recorded a kill. That started three straight points and decided the match for WSU after two SUU attack errors.

Weber’s 12-6 advantage in blocks proved big and the Wildcats outhit the Thunderbirds .216 to .124. Rose Moore and Maggie Larsen each totaled 12 kills, and Carlson had 11.

WSU is now 10-6 overall and 3-3 in the Big Sky; SUU fell to 1-15 overall.

The Wildcats face a tough week with an opportunity to climb the standings against two teams tied for second place. WSU travels to Idaho State (13-5, 5-1) on Tuesday night, then hosts Northern Colorado (9-8, 5-1) on Saturday.