PREVIEW | Southern Utah Volleyball Set to Host Thunderbird Classic Tournament

CEDAR CITY, Utah -- The Southern Utah University volleyball team prepares to compete in their first home tournament since 2014 this coming weekend, Sept. 5-7, 2019. The Thunderbirds will welcome Saint Mary's from California, Middle Tennessee State University from Tennessee and Boise State University from Idaho. Each team will have the chance to play against one another over the course of the weekend. 

"We have a great facility and as our program grows we want to defend our home court first and foremost, and give our fans an early season glimpse at our team," said head coach Pete Hoyer. "That will be important when conference matches begin. Last weekend we showed a lot of grit, but obviously being just week two of a four month season, we still have a lot to work on."

Last Time Out

For the first time since 2015, the Thunderbirds opened their season on a 3-0 winning streak after sweeping Xavier and Eastern Michigan in three sets and edging out Utah State in five. SUU was named Utah State Classic champs and three Thunderbirds received All-Tournament Honors. 

Shannon Webb was named All-Tournament MVP and Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week after leading the Thunderbirds offense; recording 57 kills on the weekend. Thea Leiataua and Alexis Averett were named All-Tournament. Averett tallied 90 assists, 15 digs and 11 points. Leiataua chipped in 24 kills and 40 digs, respectively. 

Opponent Preview: Saint Mary's College (1-2) (0-0 West Coast Conference) 

The Gaels are set to visit Utah once more as they competed in the Utah Volleyball Classic last weekend hosted by the University of Utah. SMC went 1-1 upon conclusion of Friday's play; falling to the Utes in three and toppling #23 Cal Poly in three sets. The Gaels went on to drop to No. 7 Kentucky on Saturday afternoon. 

Senior and Utah native, Alexsa "Crash" Parker, was named to the All-Tournament team after compiling 70 assists over the course of action and posting a double-double in the upset against Cal Poly with 28 assists and 11 digs. 

Breyan Ashley and Sienna Young lead the Gaels offense with 25 and 23 kills on the season. Aubrey Pitts is a top the blocking category with 15. Libero Kelsey Knudsen leads the Gaels defense, recording 27 digs. 

The Thunderbirds will face the Gaels at 6:30 p.m. Thurs. Sept 5, 2019 inside the America First Event Center. 

Opponent Preview: Middle Tennessee State University (0-3) (0-0 Conference USA) 

The Blue Raiders visited St. Louis, Missouri last week to compete in the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic. MTSU fell in four sets to host team, St. Louis; Big Sky Conference opponent, Portland State; and Southern Illinois. 

Urte Neimantaite and Dora Peonia lead the Blue Raiders attack with 43 and 35 kills on the season. Senior Bri Tankesley holds the most digs of the team with 47 followed by setter Taylor Hammill who has 17 digs paired with 69 assists. 

Southern Utah will host MTSU on Friday, Sept. 6, 2019 at 6:30 p.m.

Opponent Preview: Boise State University (1-2) (0-0 Mountain West Conference)

The Broncos will also head back out to Utah after competing in the BYU Nike Invitational where they fell in three sets to No. 9 BYU and No.16 Marquette. Despite the two losses, BSU ended the weekend on a high note after taking down Utah Valley University in four sets. 

Lauren Ohlinger and Janell Walley are the offensive leaders for the Broncos, combining for 71 kills over the course of the weekend. Allison Casillas records the most digs for BSU with 29, followed closely by Jordi Holdaway with 28 and Danielle Boss and Walley who each have 26 digs of their own. Boss leads the team in assists with 99. 

The Thunderbirds will play the Broncos at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019 inside the America First Event Center. 

Ticket Information

Tickets for all matches can be purchased at the door or at www.TBirdTickets.com.  

Southern Utah students may attend Thunderbird matches free of charge.

Live Stats/Live Stream 

A live stream for Southern Utah's matches matches will be available on PlutoTV. 

Live stats will be provided for tournament all games. 

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.