CEDAR CITY, Utah -- For the first time since 2015, the Thunderbird volleyball team is set to compete in the Big Sky Conference Championship Tournament in Sacramento, California, with their eyes on a Big Sky title.
As the No. 7 seed, the Thunderbirds will face off against No. 2 seeded Weber State on Thursday, November 28 at 12 p.m. MT.
Last Time Out
The T-Birds secured their spot in the Big Sky Conference Tournament last weekend when they knocked off the University of Idaho.
In that match, Second Team All-Big Sky performer Shannon Webb broke the three-set single-game kill record with 25 on the evening.
Against the Eagles of Eastern Washington last Saturday, another school record fell when Corrin Peterson broke the single-game assist record with 66 on the afternoon. That led to her being named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week.
Regular Season Recap
The Thunderbirds finished the regular season with a .500 mark, sitting at 15-15 overall. This is a large improvement from their 6-24 overall finish in 2018.
They also finished the regular season with a winning record at home, going 8-4 in the America First Event Center.
Both Webb and Stacey Hone were named to the Big Sky All-Conference Second Team for their performance on the offensive side of the ball through the season.
Webb leads the team in kills with 432, followed by Hone with 368. Peterson has dished out 1,028 assists this season, while Thea Leiataua has to top mark in digs with 371. Katie Montgomery leads the team in blocks with 81 total.
Opponent Preview: Weber State Wildcats (22-7, 13-5 Big Sky)
Entering the Big Sky Tournament as the No. 2 seed, the Wildcats of Weber State are riding a four-game winning streak with victories over Sacramento State, Portland State, Montana and Montana State.
WSU won 11 of their final 12 regular season contests.
The Wildcats are led in kills by Dani Nay, who had 304 this season. Megan Gneiting is second on the team with 303.
The first time the two matched up this year was in Cedar City for Homecoming, and the T-Birds prevailed 3-2. Webb led the charge with 25 kills and 17 digs, while Peterson had 52 assists in the contest.
When the pair met in Ogden, it was the Wildcats that emerged victorious 3-1. Webb again led the T-Birds with 13 kills, while Gneiting finished with 16 for WSU.
The Wildcats had three student-athletes on the All-Big Sky First Team.
Words From Coach Hoyer
On the first round matchup...
"We were able to knock them off here, they got us at their place, and I think that we pushed them in that match up there we just couldn't close out sets," SUU head coach Pete Hoyer said. "They're an older, more mature team than we are, but I think we match up well with them. So it's exciting to go in there 1-1 with them on the season and get another show."
On fighting through adversity this season...
"It's very exciting," he said. "I keep going back to September 5, when we lost two setters in one match and Corrin stepped up and started leading the show. She finished third in the conference is assists and last weekend had 17 per set in our two matches, so our entire team has had this 'next man up' mentality all season."
On his conference tournament mindset...
"We've preached all year to play one point at a time," he said. "I think we've gotten ourselves in trouble in some matches when we're thinking about 25 instead of wherever we are in a set. So that's been our mantra all year is one point. There are no five point plays in volleyball. And that extends into matches. We're all about Weber right now. Whatever happens Thursday, we'll worry about the Friday match after we're done with Weber."
How To Watch/Follow Along
The Big Sky Conference Championship Tournament will be streamed line on PlutoTV Channel 530 and on www.WatchBigSky.com.
A link to live stats will be available prior to first serve on www.suutbirds.com.
Follow Us
Stay updated on the Thunderbirds 24/7 by following @SUUVolleyball on Twitter and Instagram along with liking the Southern Utah Volleyball page on Facebook.
