CEDAR CITY, Utah - Sept. 1 - Southern Utah women's volleyball will continue its season this weekend as the Thunderbirds face North Dakota, Drake and Wisconsin-Green Bay at the Hampton Inn Drake Invitational.

“This will be a real test for us this weekend,” head coach Debby Baker said.  “Each of these teams are very well coached and I know that they will have their teams ready to compete.  All three games will help us to prepare for next weekend when we open conference play in the Dakotas.”

Southern Utah has opened the 2010 season with an overall record of 2-2 after victories over Murray State and Northern Arizona at the UniWyo Wyoming Invitational last weekend.  The T-Birds remained undefeated in season openers with their 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-23) victory over the Murray State Racers in the first game of the tournament.

Reigning Summit League Freshman of the Year Analaine Pelaez picked up right where she left off in 2009, leading the team in kills (62) and attempts (169).  Pelaez tied her own school record with 29 kills in the game against Northern Arizona.  The sophomore currently ranks third in the Summit League with 4.13 kills per set.

Senior Brittney Clark is making the most of her final season directing the Thunderbird attack with a team-best 153 assists and is also tied for the team lead with four service aces this season (Caitlin Jensen, Jazmine Ma'afala).

Cashaana Renfro leads the team on defense with 15 blocks, including a team-best 14 block assists.  Jensen has stepped into her role as the starting libero with confidence, leading the team with 59 digs, including a school-record 24 against the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona.

Southern Utah is slated to face North Dakota on Friday at 5 p.m. (CT) with games against Drake and Wisconsin-Green Bay scheduled on Saturday at Noon (CT) and 5 p.m. (CT), respectively.  Live stats for each game will be available online at www.suutbirds.com.

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