Women's Volleyball Falls in Four-Set Match at South Dakota State

BROOKINGS, S.D. - Oct. 30 - Southern Utah women's volleyball recorded more points than South Dakota State, but ultimately committed more errors, falling to the Jackrabbits 25-17, 25-17, 24-26 and 25-21 on Friday night. The loss drops the Thunderbirds to 6-17 on the year and 4-9 in Summit League play. SDSU moves to 8-15 and 7-7 in conference with the victory.

The first and second sets were both back-and-forth affairs as the teams tied the games at 4-4 and 5-5, respectively. It was then that the Jackrabbits made their move in both sets, building leads of 16-10 and then finishing out each frame with the 25-17 final.

Southern Utah came out of the break between the second and third set and were more on their game, recording a .467 hitting percentage and a set-high 17 kills. Jazmine Ma'afala led the way with seven kills as SUU came from behind at 10-6 to tie the game at 13-13 and then take an 18-14 lead late in the set. SDSU countered with a run of its own, bringing the game to set point at 24-20, before Southern Utah came back with six unanswered points to capture the set 26-24.

The Thunderbirds battled to a 12-9 advantage midway through the fourth set, but later surrendered the lead as the teams rallied back and forth through a 20-20 tie. It was then that South Dakota State put together three straight points and eventually finished off the set with a 25-21 score.

Ma'afala and Analaine Pelaez led all attackers with 21 kills during the contest while Tess Lawrence also recorded double-digit kills with ten. Pelaez also recorded 14 digs, marking her 13th double-double of the season. Brittney Clark tallied her second consecutive double-double with 48 assists and ten digs. Courtney Lelepali led the team with 19 digs during the night.

In all, Southern Utah recorded 73 points to South Dakota State's 66, but recorded 45 errors to SDSU's 26. Fiona Jones led the Jackrabbits with 16 kills and 19 digs.

The Thunderbirds will be back in action tomorrow night when Southern Utah travels to league-leading North Dakota State. That game is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. (CT).

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Players Mentioned

#3 Brittney Clark: S; 5' 9"; Junior

#10 Tess Lawrence: MB/OH; 5' 11"; Redshirt Freshman

#5 Courtney Lelepali: L; 5' 7"; Freshman

#12 Jazmine Ma'afala: OH; 5' 10"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#3 Brittney Clark
: 5' 9"; Junior
: S

#10 Tess Lawrence
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Freshman
: MB/OH

#5 Courtney Lelepali
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: L

#12 Jazmine Ma'afala
: 5' 10"; Junior
: OH