CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah volleyball team will travel to Northern Arizona on Thursday November 4 before returning home to host Portland State on Saturday November 6 for their final home match of the season. Seven seniors will be honored in a post-match ceremony on Saturday: Corrin Peterson, Stacey Hone, Kayla Dowler, Andreanna McKee, Abigail Longson, Julie Castleman, and Bridget Triplett.
Last Time Out
The Thunderbirds traveled to both Idaho and Eastern Washington last week, dropping both matches in straight sets. They have now lost four straight matches and dropped to 2-10 in Big Sky play.
This puts them in a three-way tie at the bottom of the conference standings, but all three teams still have a shot to make the Big Sky Volleyball Tournament. If the tournament started today, Idaho State, Southern Utah, and Idaho would all miss out on making the trip to Ogden. However, with two weeks still left in the season, there are still two spots in the tournament up for grabs. Eastern Washington sits at 6-6 and Montana sits at 4-8, leaving the door open for the Thunderbirds to secure a spot in the tournament.
Scouting Report: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (9-12, 7-5 BSC)
With two weeks left in the regular season, the Lumberjacks are locked into a three-way tie for fourth in the conference with Sacramento State and Montana State. All three teams have secured a spot in the Big Sky Volleyball Tournament and will now be competing for higher seeding.
Northern Arizona have won two of their last three matches, sweeping both Montana and Idaho. Taylor Jacobsen ranks second in the Big Sky in kills, averaging 3.45 kills per set. Ryann Davis has the third-highest hitting percentage in the conference, hitting .320 on the season.
The Thunderbirds have never won a match in Flagstaff and last beat the Lumberjacks in 2013.
Scouting Report: Portland State Vikings (16-7, 10-2 BSC)
The Vikings come into this week tied at the top of the Big Sky standings with Weber State. The Vikings beat the Wildcats in four sets last Saturday to give both of the teams a 10-2 record with four games remaining in the conference schedule.
Ellie Snook leads the Big Sky and ranks eighth in the NCAA with 5.47 digs per set this season. Makayla Lewis and Parker Webb rank sixth and seventh in the Big Sky with 3.23 and 3.19 kills per set, respectively.
The Thunderbirds lost to the Vikings earlier this season, but have won three of the last four matchups between the two teams. The Vikings have not won in Cedar City since 2018.
Match Day Information
Thursday's match against the Lumberjacks is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. in Flagstaff. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+ and live stats will be available at nauathletics.com.
Saturday's match against the Vikings is set to begin at 6:00 p.m. inside the America First Event Center. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+ and live stats will be available at suutbirds.com. A senior night ceremony will immediately follow the match.
Tickets
Tickets for the Thunderbirds' next home match against Portland State on November 6 are available at tbirdtickets.com or the America First Event Center Ticket Office. Fans can also purchase Volleyball Season Tickets for access to every home match of the 2021 season.
Follow Us
Stay up to date during the 2021 Thunderbird Volleyball season by following @SUUVolleyball on Twitter and Instagram and liking the Southern Utah Volleyball page on Facebook.
