CEDAR CITY, Utah -- Southern Utah is preparing for a spooky match as it hosts the Montana Grizzlies on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 6:30 pm in a Halloween clash. Right before the Thunderbirds take to the court, the America First Event Center will host the annual Southern Utah University Athletics Trunk-or-Treat, and SUU will look to ride the energy of all the sugared-up fans to its first conference win of 2026.

The Thunderbirds

Southern Utah comes into the match with the Grizzlies after six different players recorded blocks and 11 players recorded digs against Montana State on Thursday in a balanced defensive effort.

During their last seven matches, the Thunderbirds have recorded at least five blocks on defense six times and have held their opponents to a sub .220 hitting percentage in five of those outings. The defense is sure to be excited to face a Grizzlies offense that has hit into 2.6 blocks per set over its last four performances while only hitting above .200 once in that same span.

Natalie Moore extended her streak of matches with a block to seven in a row on Thursday as the junior continues to lead the defensive effort at the the net for Southern Utah with 56 total rejections on the year, 16 of them solo. Audrey Atwood has been making a name for herself on defense recently, leading the team in total blocks in her last two matches and averaging more than two digs per set over her last seven.

On offense, the Thunderbirds have scored at least 40 kills in four of their last six matches, and will look to continue building on recent momentum against a Montana team that has allowed opponents to hit above .240 in three straight matches, including two matches allowing a hitting percentage above .300.

Emilia Zug led all Thunderbirds with seven kills on Thursday against Montana State and the USU-Eastern transfer needs only three more to become the fourth Southern Utah player to reach 100 kills for the season on Saturday. The three century club members for Southern Utah, Audrey Atwood, Ryen Smith and Natalie Moore, each recorded five kills on Thursday and will look for even bigger performances against the Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies

Montana comes into Saturday's match with a record of 6-16 with a conference mark of 2-9 after losing its last four matches. Defensively, the Grizzlies are allowing more than 14 kills per set to opponents this season, while their offense has struggled as well, holding a hitting percentage of .171.

Thunderbirds vs Grizzlies Part One

Southern Utah first met Montana this season in Missoula on Oct. 15 when the Grizzlies won 3-1 (25-19, 22-25, 25-14, 25-17). In that match, Emilia Zug and Ryen Smith each went off for double-digit kills with 11 and 10, respectively. Audrey Atwood led the team in digs with ten while contributing nine kills of her own, and Talea Berry took the top spot for assists with 20 in the match. Click for full match recap or box score.

Trunk-or-Treat Details

Prior to Saturday's match is the annual Trunk-or-Treat in the America First Event Center concourse from 5:15-6:15 pm. Admission will be free for both the Trunk-or-Treat and volleyball match, but note that all standard arena policies will be enforced, including the clear bag policy and no outside food. The only exception to the clear bag policy will be for children's trick-or-treat bags. Tables will be set up and labeled for each Southern Utah team.

Follow Us

Stay up to date on the Thunderbirds Volleyball program by following @SUUVolleyball on Twitter and Instagram and liking the Southern Utah Volleyball page on Facebook.

Donate

To help support Thunderbirds athletics, consider donating today! To learn more about how you can support, click here. 

Tickets

Single-game and season tickets for the upcoming Southern Utah Volleyball season are now available. For more information and to purchase tickets for SUU Volleyball, visit tbirdtickets.com.