CEDAR CITY, Utah - Coming off of their first tournament of the season, the Southern Utah University volleyball team will look to secure their first win as they will host the Southern Utah Tournament from Friday, Sept. 6 to Saturday, Sept. 7. The Thunderbirds will open on Friday with Idaho at 1 p.m. MT and UC Riverside at 6 p.m. MT before wrapping up on Saturday at 11 a.m. MT with a rematch against Idaho.

Head Coach Kacey Nady Said:

"How amazing it is to be in our beautiful AFEC! This time of year is always very exciting with school beginning and a burst of energy on campus from the students. The team is ready to compete and protect our home court!"

Southern Utah Tournament Info

Dates: Sept. 6-7

Location: Cedar City, Utah

Venue: America First Event Center

Match Schedule

Friday, Sept. 6

• Idaho vs. UC Riverside, 10 a.m. MT
• Idaho vs. Southern Utah, 1 p.m. MT
• UC Riverside vs. Southern Utah, 6 p.m. MT

Saturday, Sept. 7

• Idaho vs. Southern Utah, 11 a.m. MT

T-Bird Tidbits

• New Thunderbird Victoria Zibecchi leads the squad with an impressive 2.77 points per set.
• Teniyah Leuluai orchestrates the offense to the tune of 76 total assists early in the season, earning her an all-tournament award at the San Diego Invitational.
• Finley Charapata leads the defensive effort with a cool 2.45 digs per set to go along with 76 receptions.

Last Time Out

On Saturday, the Thunderbirds wrapped up the UC San Diego Invitational against the host Tritons.

The first frame saw both teams going blow for blow tied 13-13 led by big kills from Charlotte Wilson and Victoria Zibecchi, but a 4-0 and 5-0 run from the Tritons saw them take a commanding lead and win the set 19-25. 

Down 12-20 in the second set, the Thunderbirds mounted a furious comeback led by a balanced attack from Teniyah Leulaui and Andrea Spasojevic. After a 5-1 run from SUU cut the deficit to four, UCSD responded with a quick kill to push the lead to 23-18. Led once again by Leulaui, the 'Birds rattled off an 8-1 run capped off by a Kennady Charlton kill to win the second 26-24.

After beginning the third tied 2-2, a 13-3 run from San Diego gave them a commanding 15-5 lead. A couple of kills from Charlton and Marlee Ervin weren't enough as the Tritons took the frame 25-9.

In the fourth, a balanced attack from Carissa Richie, Zibecchi, and Spasojevic propelled Southern Utah to an early 16-10 lead. After a furious comeback from the Tritons tied the set at 18 apiece, SUU responded by taking advantage of attack errors to send the frame to extras and ultimately take it 28-26. 

After a point-to-point start tied the fifth 2-2, UCSD switched sides on a 6-2 run to make the score 8-4. A furious rally led by Zibecchi put them within two, but that was the closest they got as San Diego would go on to claim the set 15-9 and win the match. 

Idaho Vandals

The Vandals enter the tournament with a 0-3 record following the Betty Austin Invitational hosted by Alabama A&M.

Zuzanna Wieczorek will be a key offensive piece for Idaho, putting up 15 kills against host Alabama A&M and 13 kills versus UT Chattanooga.

UC Riverside Highlanders

UC Riverside is 0-4 on the young season, dropping all four matches in last weekend's DC Invitational.

Carissa Wiles leads the Highlanders offensively with 2.77 kills per set to go along with 83 total assists. Defensively, Syndee Rowe (10.0) and Brianna Bowyer (9.0) lead the team in total blocks.

History

The Vandals lead the Thunderbirds 9-3 all-time, with Southern Utah taking the last match 3-0 at home last season.

The Highlanders lead the all-time series against Southern Utah 4-1, winning their last four against the Thunderbirds

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