CEDAR CITY, Utah - Coming off of their longest road trip of the year, the Southern Utah University women's volleyball team returns home for two conference clashes. First, the Thunderbirds will square off in a rivalry match against the Utah Valley Wolverines on Thursday, Oct. 31, at 6:30 p.m. MT before wrapping up the weekend against the Seattle University Redhawks on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 1:00 p.m. MT.

Head Coach Kacey Nady Said:

"We are looking forward to the opportunity to compete against two good teams at home this week. UVU is playing really good volleyball right now, and when we serve tough and get them out of system, it'll be a fun match!"

Top T-Birds

• Andrea Spasojevic leads the club with 2.80 kills per set.
• Teniyah Leuluai continues her dominant season with 641 total assists, now ranked third in the Western Athletic Conference.
• Carissa Richie protects the net with 69 total blocks on the season, just under a block per set.

Last Time Out

On Saturday, Oct. 26, Southern Utah dropped their last match of a four-game road trip against the Grand Canyon Antelopes.

Tied 4-4 early in the first, each team exchanged 5-0 scoring runs on the way to a 15-12 GCU advantage going into the media break. Out of the timeout, both clubs continued to exchange points before a quick 3-0 run from SUU tied things up once again at 19. A few points later, another 3-0 run from the Thunderbirds gave them a slim 22-20 lead, but four of the next five went the way of the Antelopes, giving them the one-point advantage, 24-23 before a quick kill from Andrea Spasojevic tied it up at 24 apiece. However, this would be the closest Southern Utah would get, as a quick kill and service ace from Grand Canyon would seal the frame 26-24 and give the home team a 1-0 lead.

Set number two followed a similar script to the first, with an early 4-0 scoring run from the Antelopes helping them hold an early 10-8 lead. With the Thunderbirds looking to gain momentum, another scoring run from GCU sparked their offense, building a 19-13 lead late in the set. Southern Utah tried to take advantage of errors from their opponent, but Grand Canyon would knock down six of the last seven to claim set two 25-14 and put them up 2-0 in the match.

With GCU up 8-4 to start the third frame, SUU put their offense to work, capitalizing on errors from their opponent to string together two separate 3-0 scoring runs on the way to a 15-12 lead at the media timeout. Coming out of the break, Grand Canyon began to attack, scoring on five straight to give them a slight 17-15 advantage. A few points later, Southern Utah retook the lead with four straight kills, 20-18. Both squads continued to battle back and forth, but kills from Victoria Zibecchi, and Spasojevic would ice the set 25-22 and extend the match to a fourth frame.

The fourth was another back-and-forth affair for both teams, with the Antelopes holding a 16-11 lead halfway through the set. The Thunderbirds looked to get things going with a kill from Molly McDermott, exchanging 3-0 runs with their opponent to find themselves down only four, 19-15. A few points later, three straight kills from GCU put them on the brink, 24-17, and despite two quick points from their opponent, would go on to take the fourth 25-19 and give them the win 3-1.

Scouting Report

Utah Valley Wolverines

• The Wolverines own a 15-7 record on the season with a 6-4 mark in WAC play, beating Grand Canyon last Thursday before losing in five to top-seeded UT Arlington on Saturday.
• Sami Blackett (305) and Avery Shewell (269) spark the offense, leading the club in total kills.
• Evalyn Chism sets her teammates effectively with 816 assists on the season, second-best in the league.
• Bella Wooden leads the defense with her WAC-best 132 total blocks, 22 more than second place.

Seattle University Redhawks

• Seattle is 5-15 on the year with a 3-7 record in the WAC, coming off of sweeps from ACU and UTA last weekend. The Redhawks will play Utah Tech on Thursday before making the trip to Cedar City.
• Elif Teksoy spreads the wealth with her team-high 6.41 assists per set.
• Katlyn Sipes protects the defensive backcourt with 298 digs on the year.
• Marley Hardgrave (61) and Yasemin Elmas (56) share blocking duties, leading the club in total blocks.

History

• The Thunderbirds own a 2-11 record all-time versus the Wolverines, with UVU taking both matchups last season 3-0.
• Southern Utah is 1-3 all-time against Seattle U. The teams last met up in Seattle on Thursday, Oct. 17, where the Redhawks won 3-0.

Tickets

For single-game tickets, be sure to visit tbirdtickets.com.

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