CEDAR CITY, Utah -- Southern Utah women's volleyball travels to Ogden on Thursday, Nov. 5 for a 6:00 pm matchup with the Weber State Wildcats.

The Thunderbirds

Southern Utah comes into Thursday's match having scored at least 30 kills in seven of its last eight matches after sending home 38 kills in just three sets against Montana last time out. 

Additionally, the Thunderbirds have played three matches in a row in which they have recorded a higher hitting percentage than in the previous performance, including seeing their hitting percentage nearly double against Montana in comparison to their outing against Montana State.

Audrey Atwood has sent home nine-plus kills in seven of her last eight matches, including exactly nine against Montana as she became the first Southern Utah player to reach 150 kills for the season, now sitting at 153. Meanwhile, Natalie Moore has been a quiet offensive contributor lately on offense, scoring at least five kills with a hitting percentage more than .300 in four of her last seven matches.

Defensively, the Thunderbirds have been a model of consistency in recent matches, recording five-plus blocks and in 40+ digs in six of their last seven matches. That defensive consistency is the result of a total team effort as six Thunderbirds average at least one dig per set and four players average at least one block per match for the season.

Libero Zorana Stankovska leads all Thunderbirds in digs by averaging 2.13 per set while Kaitlyn Barnes has begun taking extra reps at the libero spot in recent matches, seeing her average climb to 1.5. At the net, Natalie Moore continues to lead Southern Utah after a two block performance against Montana brought her to 58 for the season, with 17 of her rejections being solo.

The Wildcats

Weber State comes into Thursday's match with a 14-8 record and sits tied for fifth in the Big Sky Conference at 7-5 after a five-set marathon loss to Northern Colorado last time out. The Wildcats are hitting a solid .232 on offense while their defense allows the second most kills in the conference at 13.37 per set.

Thunderbirds vs Wildcats Part One

Southern Utah and Weber State met in Cedar City on October 10 of this year with the Wildcats coming out on top by a score of 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-17, 28-26). Despite the loss, the Thunderbirds had one of their best offensive performances of the year against Weber State, scoring a season-best 63 kills against the Wildcats while also recording their most digs in a match with 64. Click for full recap and box score.

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.