CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah volleyball team will be back at home for the next two weeks. To begin their stretch at home, they will have a chance to avenge their earlier losses this season against Portland State and Sacramento State.
Last Time Out
Last week, the Thunderbirds had two road conference matches versus the University of Montana and Montana State. The match against Montana came down to a deciding fifth set. Ultimately, Montana prevailed in the set winning the match 3-2.
Macky Fifita was the star in this match for Southern Utah crushing 15 kills and also getting 15 digs.
In the match against Montana State, Southern Utah fell in the first set but then made it quick recovery in the second set to even the score up. From then on, however, the Bobcats took control, and Montana State won the match in four sets.
MaCail Evans had another strong performance in this match with 10 kills, a .391 hitting percentage, and four blocks.
Miranda Canez also had 7 blocks in the match.
Opponent Preview: Portland State
The Vikings of Portland State have been a dominant force in the Big Sky all season. They will be coming into this match with an 8-2 record in conference play and a 17-5 record overall. Their two losses against Big Sky opponents came at the hands of Sacramento State and Northern Arizona.
In their previous competition against Southern Utah, the Vikings won the match in three sets. The difference in this match came from the depth that Portland State displayed. The Vikings have four different players with at least ten kills.
The Thunderbirds weren't able to match that as their leading scorer was Evans who hit nine kills for the match with a .421 hitting percentage.
The key for Southern Utah in this match will be to get the Hornets out of their comfort zone where so many different players can confidently attack at the net. They will also need to specifically focus on shutting down Caitlin Bettenay. Bettenay has been the offensive leader for Portland State all season. She has averaged 4.03 kills per set and a .203 hitting percentage throughout the season.
Opponent Preview: Sacramento State
The Hornets of Sacramento State should once again prove to be a formidable for the Thunderbirds. Sacramento State is currently undefeated in Big Sky play with a 10-0 record. In Southern Utah's last matchup against them, the Hornets won the match in three sets.
Fifita led the efforts against Sacramento State that night as she played well offensively and defensively falling just one kill short of a double-double.
The player that Southern Utah needs to look out for in this match is Mikaela Nocetti. Nocetti was on fire in the matchup against the Thunderbirds. She hit 20 kills on the night with only one error and a .543 hitting percentage
It will be critical for the Thunderbirds to slow Nocetti down in their match this week.
Live Stats/Live Stream
A live stream of both matches will be on PlutoTV. The PlutoTV app can be downloaded to access PlutoTV programming, or visit pluto.tv/watch. All Thunderbird home programming will be available on channel 236.
Live stats will be available on suutbirds.com prior to the start of the match
The match against Portland State will begin at 7 p.m. MT Thursday night. Action against Sacramento State will begin at 7 p.m. MT Saturday evening. Both matches will be played in the America First Event Center.
