T-Birds Wrap up September with Pacific Northwest Road Trip

Women's Volleyball 11/11/2012 5:12:00 AM SUU Strategic Communication

SUU Volleyball Picks up First Weekend Sweep with Victory

MISSOULA, Mont. - Nov. 10 - Southern Utah University and Montana swapped lopsided victories in the first four sets and then the Thunderbirds came back from an 8-4 deficit in the fifth to take the match 16-14 for their first conference weekend sweep of the season. The victory, coupled with a loss by Montana State (14-12/8-10), keeps the T-Birds' tournament chances alive as the team moves to 11-19 overall and 7-11 in Big Sky Conference play.

Montana opened the first set with a five-point run, building a 6-2 lead and carried the momentum throughout the frame to take it 25-17. Southern Utah bounced back in the second, scoring the first three points of the set on an Alissa Youart kill and back-to-back errors by the Grizzlies. The T-Birds used another four-point run soon after to take an 8-3 lead and maintained at least a three-point cushion throughout the rest of the set. SUU held its largest lead of nine at 20-11 and finished out the set with a similar margin as a Taylor Heine, Kylie Schofield block punctuated the frame 25-16.

Southern Utah continued to roll in the third set, hitting a match-high .429 with 15 kills on 28 attempts with only three errors. The T-Birds finished the set on a 15-4 run as kills by Analaine Mailoto and Schofield wrapped up the stanza 25-14.

Montana had its best attacking performance in the fourth set, hitting .351 with 18 kills on 37 attempts with five errors. The number translated into a 25-18 victory for the home side and forced a deciding fifth set.

The momentum from the fourth set carried over for the Grizzlies as Montana built an 8-4 lead in the fifth. However, the Thunderbirds began to chip away siding out Montana on every serve down the stretch and tying the match at 12-12. Southern Utah took its first lead of the set at 13-12 on a Cashaana Renfro kill, but the Grizzlies answered and tied the match again at 13-13. The same scenario played out with Renfro collecting a kill to give the T-Birds the 14-13 lead, only to have UM come back to tie the match at 14-14. However, back-to-back errors by Montana over the next two points gave Southern Utah the victory 16-14.

Renfro and Schofield led Southern Utah on the night with matching 14-kill performances and were joined in double-digit kill numbers by Alissa Youart (12) and Analaine Mailoto (11). Senior Anna Burgess had her best match of the season, logging a career-best 19 digs, starting at libero for the second consecutive night.

Southern Utah can clinch a berth in the Big Sky tournament with victories at home next week against Northern Colorado and North Dakota and losses by Montana State at Sacramento State and Montana. SUU is slated to face UNC on Thursday night and UND on Saturday night with both matches set to begin at 7:00 p.m. Fans can follow both matches with live stat and live video links anticipated to be available online at www.suutbirds.com.

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Players Mentioned

#16 Anna Burgess: DS; 5' 8"; Senior

#13 Taylor Heine: MB; 6' 0"; Freshman

#15 Analaine Mailoto: OH; 5' 10"; Senior

#6 Cashaana Renfro: MB; 6' 2"; Senior

#23 Kylie Schofield: OP; 6' 2"; Junior

#2 Alissa Youart: OH; 5' 10"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#16 Anna Burgess
: 5' 8"; Senior
: DS

#13 Taylor Heine
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: MB

#15 Analaine Mailoto
: 5' 10"; Senior
: OH

#6 Cashaana Renfro
: 6' 2"; Senior
: MB

#23 Kylie Schofield
: 6' 2"; Junior
: OP

#2 Alissa Youart
: 5' 10"; Junior
: OH