SUU VB - SUU Volleyball Suffers Opening Round Loss at Drake Invitational Add Comment    Sep 19, 2010

DES MOINES, Iowa - Sept. 3 - Southern Utah got off to a rocky start at the Hampton Inn Drake Invitational on Friday afternoon as the Thunderbirds fell 3-0 to the North Dakota Fighting Sioux.  The loss drops the T-Birds to 2-3 on the season while UND moves to 5-0.

North Dakota proved to be too much for the Thunderbirds in the first set, hitting .448 to Southern Utah's .033.  The margin led to a 25-14 defeat for SUU as the Fighting Sioux made the most of their offense, recording 17 kills.

The second set was closer, but UND got out to an early lead capturing the first three points of the frame.  The three-point margin held through most of the set as the Sioux drew match point at 24-18.  Southern Utah continued to fight, breaking the North Dakota serve and collecting the next three points to bring the score to 24-21.  However, it was as close as the T-Birds would come, falling 25-21 on a final Fighting Sioux block.

Southern Utah took its first lead of the match during the third set as the T-Birds made the most of a UND error to capture the first point, 1-0.  SUU continued to lead through 7-5, but a 4-0 North Dakota run swung the momentum and lead to North Dakota's side.  The lead held for the Sioux through the rest of the frame as the team wrapped up the set and match with a 25-19 win.

Tess Lawrence had the most success for the Thunderbird attack as the sophomore led the team with nine kills and was second with a .538 attacking percentage. 

The Thunderbirds will return to the court tomorrow as the team faces the Bulldogs of Drake University and the Phoenix of Wisconsin-Green Bay.  Live stats for both games is anticipated to be available online at www.suutbirds.com with start times slated for 11:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., respectively.-Utah College Sports News staff and wire reports

Article written by

Utah College Sports Wire