IPFW Swept in Utah in Tournament Tune-Up

Saturday, November 13

Cedar City, Utah

9:00 PM

Purdue Fort Wayne

20-10 (14-4)

Southern Utah

14-14 (12-6)

IPFW

Southern Utah

Tessa McGill had a match-high 20 digs in IPFW's loss to Southern Utah

11/13/2010 10:38:22 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

BOX SCORE

Cedar City, UT - The IPFW Mastodons were swept by the Southern Utah Thunderbirds, in a match of two of the four teams to be in the Summit League Tournament, by scores of 25-15, 25-17, 29-27.

Southern Utah (14-14, 12-6 Summit League), needing to sweep its last two matches of the season to have a chance at the Summit League Tournament, did just that, winning in three sets on Thursday over the Oakland Grizzlies, and also in three sets tonight over IPFW to earn the tournament's third seed in a tiebreaker over South Dakota State.

IPFW (20-10, 14-4 Summit), the regular season Summit League champion, earned the top seed, while North Dakota State clinched the second seed. North Dakota State and Southern Utah will face off in the first round of the championships, as well as IPFW and South Dakota State.

In a match featuring two of the top attackers in the league, IPFW's Maya Schlindwein and Southern Utah's Analaine Pelaez, the pair combined for just 19 kills, well below their combined averages. Schlindwein was held to nine kills, snapping her run of 20 consecutive matches with double figure kills, with Stephanie Lamberti finishing second on the team with six kills.

Tessa McGill had a match-high 20 digs, with Lamberti chipping in 15. Megan Steenhuysen dished out 25 assists, while Alli Hook and Taryn Parker each had four blocks.

Southern Utah never trailed in the opening two sets of the match, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the opener, and leading by as many as ten, which was the final margin in the set at 25-15.

The second set saw the Thunderbirds jump ahead 5-0 out of the gate, and never trail, keeping a margin of at least four points through the last half of the frame, heading to intermission with a two-set lead.

IPFW reversed the fortunes in the third set, taking its first lead of the match at 2-1 in the early parts of the set. The Mastodon advantage grew to as many as six at 15-9, before the hosts chipped away at the lead.

Trailing by two at 24-22, with the Mastodons serving for set point, the Thunderbirds scored four consecutive points, going from defending a set point, to serving for match point. The teams proceeded to battle back-and-forth, and were tied at 26 and 27. At 27-27, Pelaez got her 10th kill of the match, and then picked up a solo block to clinch the playoff spot for Southern Utah.

IPFW was held to a .016 hitting percentage (28 kills, 26 errors, 123 attempts), while Southern Utah hit .157 (46 kills, 25 errors, 134 attempts), and held the 'Dons without a service ace in the match.

Jazmine Ma'afala had a match-high 11 kills, while Pelaez and Cahsaana Renfro had 10 kills apiece. Brittney Clark dished out 36 assists, while Ma'afala had a team-leading 13 digs and Renfro seven blocks.

The Mastodons return to action in the first round of the tournament, to be held in Fargo, North Dakota.

~Dons~