CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah University women's volleyball team is set to open the 2024 season against big name competition at the UC San Diego Invitational from Friday, Aug. 30 to Saturday, Aug. 31. The Thunderbirds will begin their campaign with two matches on Friday, starting the day against Northern Arizona at 11 a.m. MT followed by a match against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at 3 p.m. MT. The 'Birds will wrap up play on Saturday against host school UC San Diego at 6 p.m. MT.
Head Coach Kacey Nady Said:
"Excitement is the main emotion to describe how our staff is feeling! We've been building for a while now for this season and in our first three weeks of practice we've grown tremendously. I'm looking forward to see how our discipline and willingness to change will come into play."
San Diego Invitational Info
Dates: Aug. 30-Sept.1
Location: La Jolla, CA
Venue: LionTree Arena
Match Schedule
Friday, Aug. 30
- Southern Utah vs. Northern Arizona, 11 a.m. MT
- Southern Utah vs. Gonzaga, 3 p.m. MT
- Live Stats
Saturday, Aug. 31
Preview
Southern Utah Thunderbirds
SUU will look to build off of a 2023 season where the team finished with a 6-20 overall record and a 2-14 mark in WAC play.
Entering her fourth season as head coach, Kacey Nady and her staff bring back many key contributors from last season, including Carissa Richie, Arianna Rossi, Andrea Spasojevic, Calli Johnson, and Molly McDermott. The 'Birds will also look to add production from many of their newcomers, including transfers Victoria Zibecchi and Gabriela Arias, along with freshmen Marlee Ervin and Nalani Muniz.
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
Ken Murphy enters his 12th season at the helm for the Lumberjacks. Northern Arizona finished the 2023 campaign with a 7-20 overall record, going 4-12 in conference play and finishing ninth in the Big Sky.
Hanah Stoddard will be a key returner for the Lumberjacks, who led the team in total kills last season with 331 to go along with 2.37 digs per set.
Gonzaga Bulldogs
Led by third year head coach Katie Wilson, the Bulldogs will look to build on a 3-24 finish in 2023 in which the team went winless in WCC conference play.
On the offensive side of the net, the Bulldogs will look to build on the production of sophomore Nia Damuni, who led the squad in 2023 with a staggering 8.80 assists per set. Defensively, five-year player Jody Smith will look to secure the net after leading the team with 69 total blocks last season.
San Diego Tritons
After a successful tenure as an associate coach at San Diego State, Melanie Greene will enter her first year at the helm looking to build off of a squad that went 17-13 last season with a 9-9 record in Big West conference play.
The Tritons return their key offensive contributor in Ava McInnes, who led the team in kills per set with 3.69. On the defensive side of the net, Jasmine Saran makes her return for the team after totaling 117 blocks last season.
History
- Northern Arizona leads 29-5 all-time against the Thunderbirds. The teams last played each other in 2021 when both schools were members of the Big Sky Conference.
- The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 2-1 against Southern Utah.
- The Thunderbirds and Tritons have never faced off, with San Diego becoming Division I back in 2020.
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