SUU campus briefs

WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL: Southern Utah women's volleyball looked to be heading for its second consecutive home victory after leading 2-0, but 12 T-Bird service errors over the final three sets proved to be the difference as Oakland came back to take a 3-2 win from the Thunderbirds at Cedar City.

The loss drops SUU to 3-7 overall and 1-1 in conference play, while the Golden Grizzlies improve to 7-1 and 2-0 in the Summit League.

Southern Utah recorded the first three points of the initial set and never looked back, building a lead of as much as seven (15-8) as the stanza continued. The Thunderbirds rode an accurate attack to the 25-21 first-set victory as Cashaana Renfro and Jazmine Ma'afala each hit well over .700. Analaine Pelaez led the team with nine kills during the set.

The second set was much of the same, as SUU built and early 3-0 lead with the margin widening to 10 points (18-8) late in the frame. The turning point during the second game was the dismal hitting percentage by the away team as Oakland hit minus .034. In the end, Pelaez punctuated the 25-16 victory for the T-Birds with her seventh kill of the set.

Southern Utah captured the first point of the third set, but Courtney Lelepali's serve on the next possession ended with an error, creating a bad omen for the T-Birds during the rest of the frame. In all, the Thunderbirds surrendered their serve on six service errors during the set. The free points shifted momentum to Oakland's side as the team finished the set with a score of 25-23.

The serving trouble reared its ugly head again in the fourth set as the Thunderbirds allowed points on five service errors, falling 25-21. The Golden Grizzlies built a lead of 10-3 midway through the fifth set, before Southern Utah made a late push with a 4-2 run. However, the deficit proved to be too much with the Thunderbirds falling 15-7 and losing the match 3-2.

Pelaez led all hitters with 24 kills and added 12 digs, joining Ma'afala (11 kills, 10 digs) with a double-double.

Oakland had three players with double-digit kills as Ashleigh Slemmer, Adrienne Leone and Brittany Holbrook recorded 16, 15 and 11 kills, respectively. Southern Utah was very active on the defensive side as five players recorded double figures in digs.

The Thunderbirds will take their first conference road trip next weekend when the team travels to Western Illinois and IUPUI on Sept. 18-19.