Utah State Volleyball Loses At Southern Utah in Five Sets

Women's Volleyball 8/27/2011 12:00:00 AM

Aug. 27, 2011

CEDAR CITY, Utah - Leading two sets to one, Utah State's volleyball team was unable to close out Southern Utah as the Thunderbirds rallied for a five-set win (23-25, 26-24, 13-25, 25-18, 15-13) here Saturday in the final match of the 2011 Crystal Inn Thunderbird Invitational.

Utah State falls to 1-2 on the season with the loss, while Southern Utah improves to 1-3 with the win, its first-ever victory against its in-state rival in the second-ever meeting between the two schools.

Senior All-American outside hitter Liz McArthur (St. George, Utah) recorded her second double-double of the season and 14th of her career with 15 kills and 12 digs, while junior opposite side hitter Shay Sorensen also had 15 kills. Junior libero Laurel Bodily (Idaho Falls, Idaho) finished the match with a career-high 18 digs and freshman libero Ashlan Rogers (Highland, Utah) had a season-high 15 digs.

Bodily, who registered 49 digs (4.45 dps) in USU's three matches this weekend, was named to the Crystal Inn Thunderbird Invitational all-tournament team.

Freshman middle blocker Kaitlyn VanHoff (Draper, Utah) also had her best match of the young season for Utah State as she had five kills and eight block assists, while sophomore middle blocker Nicole Gneiting-Theurer (Las Vegas, Nev.) had seven block assists.

Analaine Mailoto posted a double-double with 26 kills and 11 digs to lead Southern Utah, while Alissa Youart recorded a match-high 25 digs.

In a back and forth contest, Utah State began the match by scoring seven of the first eight points followed by a 10-0 run from Southern Utah. The Aggies then scored five of the next six points to tie the score at 12 and eventually built a 24-19 advantage before holding on for the two-point win. Sorensen had four kills to lead USU in the first set as it hit .189 (11-4-37) and SUU hit .163 (15-8-43).

Southern Utah controlled set two and led 22-14 before Utah State rallied with a 10-2 run to tie the score at 24, only to see the Thunderbirds score the final two points for the win and tie the match at one set apiece. McArthur and Sorensen each had five kills for USU in set two as the Aggies hit .122 (14-9-41) and SUU hit .186 (14-6-43).

Utah State was never threatened in the third set as it scored 10 of the first 12 points and coasted to the 12-point win. McArthur had three kills to lead USU as it hit .333 (9-1-24) and limited Southern Utah to a negative .030 (11-12-33) hitting percentage.

There were six ties and two lead changes early on in the fourth set before Southern Utah went on an 8-1 run to turn a 12-11 deficit into a 19-13 advantage and an eventual 25-18 win. Sorensen had four kills to pace Utah State in the fourth set as it hit .029 (10-9-34) and SUU hit .300 (14-5-30).

Utah State held the lead for much of the fifth set as it was up three points at 9-6 and later by two at 12-10, before Southern Utah rallied one last time by scoring five of the final six points for the dramatic come-from-behind win. SUU hit .103 (10-7-29) in the final set as compared to a .074 (5-3-27) hitting percentage for USU.

Overall, Utah State finished the match with a .141 (49-26-163) hitting percentage and Southern Utah hit .146 (64-38-178). USU had 10 more team blocks (19-9) in the contest, while SUU had six more digs (79-73). Both teams registered five service aces on the night, while the Thunderbirds had seven more service errors (13-6).

Utah State will return to action on Thursday, Sept. 1 when it hosts Idaho State in the first night of the 2011 Utah State Invitational in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum at 7 p.m.

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