PREVIEW | Southern Utah Volleyball Set to Open Big Sky Conference Play at Home 

CEDAR CITY, Utah -- The Thunderbird volleyball program will begin Big Sky Conference play this homecoming weekend as they face the Bengals of Idaho State University and the Wildcats of Weber State University. 

"We have seen a great deal of adversity this preseason," said heach coach Pete Hoyer. "It has taught us a lot about who we are as a volleyball squad and has sharpened our focus on our goal of winning the Big Sky Championship even more. We are excited to open conference at home against two very talented volleyball teams. It should be an excellent few days of volleyball." 

Last Time Out

The Thunderbird volleyball program swept the Gonzaga Bulldogs 3-0 and fell to both the Nevada Wolfpack (3-2) and the California Baptist Lancers (3-0) last weekend in their final non-conference outing. 

Thea Leiataua and Stacey Hone tied for kill leader this weekend as both tallied 29, followed closely by Shannon Webb who added 28 of her own. Leiataua also led in digs with 40, followed by Webb who had 39. Corrin Peterson combined for 106 assists. Upon tournament completion Peterson received All-Tournament honors. 

Opponent Preview: Idaho State University Bengals (3-9 Overall) (0-0 Big Sky Conference)

The Bengals are coming off a 0-2 weekend where they fell 3-0 Boise State University and 3-1 University of California Irvine in the Boise State Invitational. 

Senior Hailey Keck leads the ISU offense with 119 kills on the season, averaging 2.77 kills per set. Andri Dewey tallies the most assists on the season with 181, averaging 8.23 per set. Defensively, Mahla Bradburn totals the most digs for the Bengals with 184, followed by Keck who chips in 118, respectively. Middle blocker Raegan Steiner posts 39 blocks putting her at the top of the leaderboard. 

The Bengals finished the 2018 season fourth out of eleven in Big Sky standings, going 13-7 in Big Sky play. The last time the Thunderbirds met the Bengals on Oct. 18, 2018, SUU fell 3-2 in Pocatello.

Sami Stuart is in her first year as the head coach of the Bengals. 

The ISU matchup will be held inside the America First Event Center on Thursday, Sept. 26, at 6:30 p.m.

Opponent Preview: Weber State University Wildcats (9-2 Overall) (0-0 Big Sky Conference)

The Wildcats finished their non-conference play last weekend with two wins over Utah Valley University (3-1) and Utah State University (3-0). 

Weber State will travel to Northern Arizona University to open their Big Sky Conference schedule on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019 before making their way to Cedar City. 

Megan Gneiting, a senior outside hitter for the Wildcats, leads the team in kills with 97, averaging 2.9 kills per set. Setter Ashlyn Power tallies the most assists with 419, averaging 10.74 assists per set. Defensively, Helena Khouri totals 124 digs, followed by Rylin Roberts who has 109 digs on the season. Hannah DeYoung tallies 47 blocks for Weber State, five of them solo. 

Upon completion of the 2018 season, the Wildcats finished third in Big Sky rankings, going 13-5 in conference. The last time SUU faced Weber State was Oct. 20, 2018 in Ogden where the Thunderbirds fell 3-0. 

Head coach Jeremiah Larsen is in  into his fourth season at the helm of the Wildcats program. 

SUU will host Weber State on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. 

Fan Notes

Admission to Saturday's rivalry red out will be free of charge if a homecoming game football ticket is presented. 

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