CEDAR CITY, Utah - Aug. 24 - Southern Utah University Volleyball will open the 2011 season this weekend when the Thunderbirds host the Crystal Inn Thunderbird Invitational, facing Drake, Boise State, Pacific and Utah State on Friday and Saturday.
“It will be great to open the season at home,” head coach Debby Baker said. “We have four, really strong teams coming in and it will really give us an idea of how things will go this year. We have a good team right now, but we hope to continually improve as the season rolls along.”
The Thunderbirds will open the tournament on Friday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. facing the Drake Bulldogs followed by a match with Boise State Friday night at 7:00 p.m. Southern Utah's matinee game on Saturday will feature SUU and the University of the Pacific at 12:30 p.m. followed by a 7:00 p.m. start against Utah State that night.
Live stats and a free video stream are anticipated to be available online at www.suutbirds.com for all tournament games.
How 2010 Wrapped Up
FARGO, N.D. - Nov. 19, 2010 - Southern Utah women's volleyball captured the third set on Friday night, but couldn't overcome a hot-hitting North Dakota State team in the semi-finals of the Summit League tournament, falling 25-16, 25-15, 20-25 and 25-8. The loss ends the season for the T-Birds with an overall mark of 15-15.
Pelaez led the Thunderbirds with 12 kills and tied with Caitlin Jensen for the team lead in digs with 20. North Dakota State's Chrissy Knuth led all hitters with 18 kills, hitting .531 on the night (18-1-32).
The loss means the end of the Thunderbirds' season which exceeded pre-season expectations as SUU was picked to finish eighth in the pre-season coaches' poll. Southern Utah's 15 victories, including 12 Summit League wins marked new school records as the team now turns its sights to the 2011 season.
Reloaded Hitters
Southern Utah will be headlined in 2011 by two-time first-team all-Summit League selection Analaine Pelaez-Mailoto who has led the team and conference in kills for the past two seasons. The Hooper, Utah native logged 468 kills in 2009, averaging 4.29 per set and 464 kills in 2010 while averaging 4.07 per set.
She will be joined on the outside by sophomore Alissa Youart who was named to the Summit League all-Freshmen team after finishing fourth on the T-Bird roster with 143 kills in 2010. Youart will be looked to replace departed senior Jazmine Ma'afala who finished second on the team in kills in both 2009 and 2010 with 318 and 231 kills, respectively.
Something Old, Something New
Despite having a pair of experience attackers coming back in 2011, Southern Utah will be relying on a pair of talented freshman to step into the setter and libero position. Freshman Gabi Mirand will move into the line-up with the departure of graduated senior Brittney Clark and fellow freshman Davia Lee is anticipated to start at the libero spot after a strong showing during the first few weeks of practice.
They Grown Up So Fast
The average height for the Thunderbird roster has grown in each of the past three seasons. The 2009 roster averaged a height of 5-10, the 2010 roster averaging a height of 5-10 1/2 and the 2011 squad averaging 5-11.
Undefeated Sweeps in Season Openers
SUU volleyball is undefeated in season openers since its debut in 2009. The T-Birds have posted 3-0 victories over Delaware State and Murray State in 2009 and 2010, respectively.
Farewell Tour
Southern Utah will be playing in its final year in the Summit League in 2011, beginning competition in the Big Sky Conference in 2012.
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