CEDAR CITY, Utah - With an exhibition competition under their belt, the Thunderbird volleyball team will fly out to Charlotte, North Carolina this week to compete in the 2017 Charlotte Invitational hosted by the Charlotte 49ers. This will mark the official opening of the 2017 regular season for the Thunderbirds

Last Time Out

The Thunderbirds got their first taste of competition on August 14, when they faced off against the UNLV Rebels in Mesquite, Nevada.

Freshman Janet Kalaniuvalu led the offensive attack for the Thunderbirds, leading the team with 21 kills in her first collegiate action. Senior Macky Fifita finished the match with 14 kills, and freshman Mckenzie Van Uitert had nine for the T-Birds.

The Thunderbirds and Rebels played five sets for exhibition purposes, and UNLV outscored the Thunderbirds by 13 points. SUU only had three less kills than UNLV, but aces and blocks were the difference maker.  

Words From Coach Choate

On the improvements he's seen since the exhibition match…..

"The biggest test is their confidence, and we don't know that until we play a match that counts, so I can't measure that," he said. "But it feels like our confidence grows every day, but until the whistle blows who knows."

On the importance of setting the right tone early with a young team…..

"This tournament will probably set their confidence level, maybe for the season but at least for the first month," he said. "We don't need to go undefeated, but we need to do well. I'm hoping we do, especially with the freshmen because it's huge for them."

2017 Charlotte Invitational Preview

While in North Carolina the Thunderbirds will be taking on Elon University (Friday @ 10 a.m. MT), Charlotte (Friday @ 4 p.m. MT), South Carolina State (Saturday @ 7 a.m. MT) and Belmont University (Saturday @ 1 p.m. MT)

The Elon Phoenix finished 18-15 in 2016 and will be led this season by Sydney Busa, who was named Preseason All-CAA (Colonial Athletic Association) honorable mention.

The host team, the Charlotte 49ers, finished the 2016 season 7-23 overall and went 1-13 in Conference USA play. The 49ers have 10 players returning from their 2016 roster, with three new players added to the roster.

South Carolina State had a tough time in 2016, finishing the year 0-25. The year before they finished 4-19, picking up four wins in conference play.

The fourth and final match the Thunderbirds will play this weekend will be against the Belmont Bruins. Belmont had three student-athletes named to the Preseason All-OVC (Ohio Valley Conference) Team, with Srie Lewis, Arianna Person and Emma Price all being named to the team. Belmont finished 16-12 in 2016.    

Live Stats / Live Stream

One of Southern Utah's four matches this weekend will be livestreamed, with the T-Birds matchup with the Charlotte 49ers on Friday being broadcast on CUSATV.

Live stats will be provided for all four matches over the course of the weekend.

Links for both are available at suutbirds.com and charlotte49ers.com.

Home Opener

The Thunderbirds will play their first match at home on August 29, when they will host the Utah Valley University Wolverines. The match is slated to begin at 6 p.m. and will be SUU's inaugural broadcast on PlutoTV.

Follow Us

Stay updated during this weekend's event by following @SUUVolleyball on Twitter and Instagram along with liking the Southern Utah Volleyball page on Facebook.

Tickets

Fans can purchase tickets for SUU's home opener against Utah Valley University, and all SUU home matches, by visiting tbirdtickets.com or the Centrum Ticket Office.