SUU VB - Southern Utah Volleyball Splits Results on Day One of UniWyo Wyoming Invitational Add Comment    Sep 19, 2010

LARAMIE, Wyo. - Aug. 27 - Southern Utah (1-1) opened the season with a victory over Murray State, but came up short against host Wyoming in the first day of the UniWyo Wyoming Invitational on Friday.

Southern Utah remained undefeated in season openers as the T-Birds posted a 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-23) victory over the Murray State Racers in the first game of the day.

Neither team had much of an advantage in the first set until the Thunderbirds scored four consecutive points during true freshman Hailey Moore's service, taking an 8-6 lead.

The set was squared at 14-14 later in the frame, but the T-Birds then went on a 6-1 run to take a 20-15 lead and later closed out the first set 25-22 on an Analaine Pelaez kill.

Three of four T-Birds hitters tallied attacking percentages over .400 during the first set as SUU recorded almost a third of its points with Moore behind the service line.

Southern Utah opened the second set with a Jazmine Ma'afala ace, one of three for the senior during the set, and the Thunderbirds never looked back.  SUU hitters averaged a combined .444 hitting percentage during the frame compared to an attack of .040 from Murray State.  The advantage led to a 25-14 victory with the set really never in doubt as Southern Utah broke the Racers' serve 13 of 14 times during the frame.

The third set was back-and-forth as the frame was deadlocked on eight occasions with neither team able to build much of an advantage.  However, with the game tied at 18-18 Southern Utah made its move, putting together a 5-1 run capped by a Cashaana Renfro kill.  The run prompted a Racer timeout and MSU came out of the break to score back-to-back points.

Baker took SUU's first timeout and a Racer service error after the break set up the Thunderbirds with match point at 24-21.  However, MSU held tough and scored the next two points, prompting Southern Utah's final timeout.  Coming out of the huddle, SUU regained its focus and a Renfro kill gave the T-Birds a 25-23 victory for the 3-0 win.

Pelaez and Renfro led the Thunderbirds with 14 and ten kills, respectively with Pelaez adding a team-high 15 digs for her first double-double of the season.  Brittney Clark led the team with 39 assists while Ma'afala led the team with four service aces.

In the second match of the day, the University of Wyoming held home court and handed the Thunderbirds a 3-0 (25-13, 25-18, 25-23) defeat.  Southern Utah got out to a rocky start in the first set, falling behind 5-0 and prompting an SUU timeout.  The lead grew to 7-0 before a Wyoming service error led to the first sideout of the match.  The rest of the first set saw bigs run by the Cowgirls, leading to set point at 24-10.  The T-Birds showed grit in fighting off the end of the set, picking up three consecutive points (24-13) before UW close out the set 25-13.

The second set was closer, but the Cowgirls were able to hold off Southern Utah counter runs to keep a marginal lead throughout the frame.  Ultimately Wyoming finished the set with a 25-18 victory by capitalizing on nine Thunderbird attacking errors and four service errors.

The Thunderbirds looked like they would stretch the game to extra sets after taking the lead on five separate occasions during the third set.  SUU held leads of 4-3, 6-5, 7-6, 10-9 and 22-21 but the Cowgirls came back each time to equalize the score.  The final 4-1 swing by Wyoming was a bitter pill to swallow for the T-Birds as Southern Utah had UW on the ropes.  The momentum shift closed out the final set 25-23, giving Wyoming the win.

"I was happy with our play after that first set," head coach Debby Baker said following the match.  "Our youth and inexperience really showed in that final set, but hopefully we can learn from it and draw on the experience later in the season."

Southern Utah will return to the courts in Laramie with matches against Northern Arizona and Central Arkansas tomorrow as the Thunderbirds close out their appearance at the UniWyo Wyoming Invitational.  Game times are scheduled for 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

att: SUU-MUR.pdf; SUU-WYO.pdf (box scores); Cash-Wyo1.jpg (Cashaana Renfro action shot)-Utah College Sports News staff and wire reports

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Utah College Sports Wire