SUU Volleyball Streak Snapped at Three in Defeat to Oakland

CEDAR CITY, Utah - Sept. 29 - Southern Utah University volleyball had won three straight over Oakland going into Thursday night, but the Thunderbirds' winning streak came to an end in a four-set defeat to the Golden Grizzlies in the Centrum Arena.

"We just came out flat tonight," head coach Debby Baker said. "We have girls who are sick and sore, but we need to power through that and play with a great deal of intensity night in and night out."

Southern Utah committed four errors over the opening five points, struggling to find its groove out of the gate. Oakland capitalized on the slow start and captured the first set 25-22.

The Thunderbirds bounced back in the second set and tallied back-to-back points on Analaine Pelaez-Mailoto kills to take a quick 2-0 advantage. The teams then traded the lead three times before tying the game at 18-18 late in the frame. The Golden Grizzlies finished the set on a 7-1 run to go up 2-0 with the 25-19 win.

The third set was back-and-forth, leading up to an 11-11 tie when the Thunderbirds finally took control and went on a 6-2 run to take the lead at 17-13. Oakland battled back and tied the game at 23-23 and then used an Allison Bell kill to lock in a match point at 24-23. The Thunderbirds utilized an OU service error on the ensuing point to tie the game at 24-24 and then fought off three more Grizzly match points before forcing their own set point and 29-28. A final attacking error by Oakland sealed the set for the T-Birds with the 30-28 win.

Another slow start in the fourth set caused the T-Birds to play from behind, trailing by as much as five at 15-10. SUU slowly began to chip away and trimmed the margin to within one at 16-15 after three consecutive OU miscues, but it was as close as the home team would come down the stretch. The Thunderbirds did fight off three Oakland set points at 24-19, 24-20 and 24-21, but a final kill by the Grizzlies wrapped up the match 25-21.

Despite the outcome, freshman Davia Lee and junior Pelaez-Mailoto put in some strong individual outings with a school-record 34 digs and a double-double with 20 kills and 17 digs, respectively. The team also set a school record with 90 digs during the four-set match.

Southern Utah will look to put the loss behind them when the team continues Summit League play on a Saturday night, hosting the IPFW Mastodons. The match will feature a "Ladies Night" promotion where women can get into the match for only $2. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. with a live video feed and live stats anticipated to be available online at www.suutbirds.com.

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Players Mentioned

#3 Davia Lee: L; 5' 9"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#3 Davia Lee
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: L

Players Mentioned

#3 Davia Lee

Players Mentioned

#3 Davia Lee