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VOLLEYBALL: At Brookings, S.D., SUU fought off a South Dakota State match point in the fifth after capturing the first two sets earlier in the night to finally secure a five-set victory with a score of 25-16, 25-21, 19-25, 20-25, 16-14 in Brookings on Saturday. The victory snaps a five-game skid for the T-Birds and leaves their record at 3-6 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
SUU breezed through the first set scoring the first two points of the frame and never looked back. Tess Lawrence punctuated the stanza with one of a school-record 15 service aces during the match as Southern Utah scored the final three points to take the 25-16 win.
The second set proved to have a little drama as the Thunderbirds scored the first point of the set, but relinquished the lead at 14-13 later in the frame. However, Southern Utah then began a six-point run kick started by a pair of kills by Jazmine Ma'afala that propelled the team to a 19-14 advantage. Despite a late push by the Jackrabbits, SUU wrapped up the set 25-21 on an SDSU attacking error.
South Dakota State hitters came alive in the third and fourth set as the home team recorded attacking percentages of .457 and .385, respectively. The Jackrabbits used a 9-1 run in the middle of the third set and an 8-3 run during the final stretch of the fourth to force a fifth set with the 25-19 and 25-20 wins.
Southern Utah entered the fifth set undefeated in deciding frames this season, having captured a victory in its only other five-set match against Northern Arizona. The T-Birds dropped the first point of the set, but used a 4-2 run to secure a 5-3 advantage early in the stanza, forcing an SDSU timeout.
SUU continued to lead throughout the set until the Jacks knotted the score at 12-12 and then scored on a Thunderbird attacking error. However, South Dakota State answered with an attacking error of its own, tying the game at 13-13. An SUU service error on the next point put all the pressure on the Thunderbirds as SDSU had a game point at 14-13, but a Jackrabbit service error tied the game again at 14-14.
Southern Utah made the most of the mistake, scoring the final two points on an SDSU attacking error and Alissa Youart kill to cement the 16-14 victory.
Analaine Pelaez led all attackers with a match-high 24 kills and added 10 digs for her third double-double of the season. Ma'afala also tallied double-double numbers with 15 kills and 14 digs while Cashaana Renfro also finished the night with double-digit kills (10).
Brittney Clark led the team with a school-record five service aces as she also recorded her first double-double of the season with 54 assists and 14 digs. Kelli Fiegen and Kaitlin Klingemann led the Jackrabbit attack with 16 and 14 kills, respectively.
Southern Utah will host its home opener next weekend when the Thunderbirds welcome Centenary and Oral Roberts to the Centrum Arena. The games will be a welcome change as SUU has played its first nine games of the 2010 season on the road. The games are slated for Thursday and Saturday night with the matches set to begin at 7 p.m.