FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Nov. 14 - Southern Utah women's volleyball succumbed to late runs in each set as the Thunderbirds fell 25-14, 25-23 and 25-18 against the IPFW Mastodons on Saturday night.  The loss drops the T-Birds to 9-19 overall and 7-11 in conference play in the first year of the program since the 1988-89 season.

IPFW took the first point of the first set and used mini runs to hold the Thunderbirds at bay during the opening stanza.  The Mastodons closed out the set with a 6-0 run, following an SUU service error to capture the 25-14 victory.

Southern Utah came out in the second set by securing the first two points on back-to-back kills by Analaine Pelaez and Jazmine Ma'afala.  However, IPFW came back to tie the game at 3-3 and then took the lead on a Mayara Schlindwein kill and continued to lead until the score was once again deadlocked at 20-20.  The Mastodons collected the next two points and used it to close out the set 25-23, but it wasn't without adversity as the T-Birds fought off two set points down the stretch.

The third set was much like the second as the Thunderbirds picked up a quick 2-0 lead after back-to-back attacking errors by the Mastodons.  However, the teams swapped the lead through the middle of the frame, culminating in a tie score of 15-15 late in the stanza.  A 3-0 run by IPFW gave the home team a little cushion and the 'Dons held onto the advantage to the end of the set to take the 25-18 win.

Ma'afala and Pelaez led the Southern Utah attack, recording seven kills.  Courtney Lelepali led the team with eight digs while Brittney Clark recorded 22 assists on 25 SUU kills during the evening.  Rebekah Roehm of IPFW led all attackers with a game-high 11 kills, followed by Schlindwein with nine.

The game marks the end of the 2009 season for the women's volleyball team as the Thunderbirds will now look forward to the 2010 season.