Purdue Fort Wayne
Southern Utah
Mastodons Drop Summit Opener to Thunderbirds
9/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 11, 2009
Cedar City, UT – The IPFW Mastodons dropped their 2009 Summit League opener, falling to the Thunderbirds of Southern Utah University in four sets, 25-19, 25-15, 19-25, 25-22.
Rebekah Roehm, the reigning Summit League Offensive Player of the Week, led the team with 17 kills and a .298 attack percentage (17 kills, 3 errors, 47 attempts). Taryn Parker added a season-high nine kills, with Stephanie Lamberti and Maya Schlindwein each picking up seven. Megan Steenhuysen dished out 30 assists, as Jamie Schwartz had 14 digs and Parker five blocks.
The win for the Thunderbirds is their first ever in the Summit League, as the school re-started the program this year after a 21-year hiatus, and the match, the first home contest by the Thunderbird volleyball squad during that time, was played in front of a rowdy crowd totaling over 2,000.
In the opening set, neither team could open up much of a lead, as the teams were tied at eight apiece before the T-Birds scored three straight points, the final two on kills by Jasmine Ma’afala, giving the hosts an 11-8 lead. The Mastodons would get only as close as two the rest of the way, and trailed by three at 21-18 until SUU scored three straight points to give the Thunderbirds set point at 24-18. IPFW got a point back on a Megan Clyde service error, before the ‘Dons returned the favor on a Jamie Schwartz serve, securing the 25-19 first-set win for Southern Utah.
Southern Utah jumped ahead quickly in the second set, scoring the first three points of the frame, and not trailing during the period. The lead grew to as many as five at 8-3 before IPFW head coach Kelley Hartley Hutton called her first timeout of the stanza, which paved the way for a resurgence for the ‘Dons, as they scored the next five points, on a kill by Taryn Parker and three straight blocks in which Parker teamed with Maya Schlindwein, Stephanie Lamberti, and Schlindwein, respectively, knotting the score at eight apiece and forcing SUU into a timeout of their own.
After IPFW and Southern Utah traded points, the Thunderbirds ran off a 4-0 run to lead 13-9. The Mastodons trailed by four at 18-14, before the hosts scored seven of the final eight points to secure the 25-15 second-set win.
In the third set, IPFW rebounded from their 2-0 deficit to use a 4-0 run early in the frame to take a 7-4 lead in the beginning stages of the set. The Mastodons saw their advantage cut to just one at 12-11 following a Thunderbird run, before the Mastodons ran off a 3-0 streak to give the visitors a four-point advantage. The young Thunderbirds once again fought back, again climbing to within one, this time at 18-17, before five straight Mastodon points took the score to 23-17, as the squad finished off the T-Birds at 25-19 following a kill by Roehm.
The fourth and final set was back-and-forth the entire way, as Southern Utah jumped ahead early, 3-2, before a 3-0 run pushed IPFW ahead by two at 5-3 following a Parker kill. SUU followed with a 3-0 run of their own to give the hosts another lead at 6-5. The Mastodons re-took their lead, and led by three as late as 17-14, until the Thunderbirds mounted a comeback, taking a one-point, 19-18 lead. The set remained close, as the teams were tied at 22, until Southern Utah ran off the final three points of the match, the final two on kills by Analaine Pelaez.
Pelaez knocked down a match-high 20 kills in the contest, with Ma’afala and Tess Lawrence chipping in 14 and 13, each. Brittney Clark dished out 49 assists, with Ma’afala and Courtney Lelepali picking up 16 and 15 digs, respectively.
The Mastodons look to regroup, and take on the Kangaroos of UMKC, who fell in four sets to Oakland University this evening. First-serve for the match in Kansas City is set for 8:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.
~Dons~
