CEDAR CITY, Utah -- Southern Utah women's volleyball will face the Utah Tech Trailblazers on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 6:30 pm as the Thunderbirds look to even the season series against their in-state rivals.
"Utah Tech is always an exciting match up for us. It's a rivalry game, and our players get really excited about the opportunity to compete against them. We're especially looking forward to having them in our gym this time … Ultimately, it's a rivalry game, it's on our home floor and we know how important this one is. We're excited for the opportunity and ready to compete."
The Thunderbirds
Southern Utah enters Tuesday's match with an offense that has been at its season-best recently, averaging 12.3 kills per set over its last three matches. Not only is that nearly two full kills better than the season average for the Thunderbirds, Southern Utah's hitting percentage as a team has been above the season average in all three performances as well.
Emilia Zug led all Thunderbirds in kills last time out, scoring 13 while only committing one attack error. It was Zug's second consecutive match with double-digit kills after an 11-kill performance against Weber State as the junior now sits only six kills behind Ryen Smith for second on the team.
Smith has also recorded double-digit kills in both of her last matches, scoring 11 against Weber State and 10 against Idaho State. The Smithfield, Utah native now has five-plus kills in each of her last four performances while averaging nearly eight kills per match in that time.
Defensively, the Thunderbirds have averaged 14.5 digs per set during their last three matches while recording five blocks per match in the same stretch. The defense will be looking to keep Utah Tech's offense in check as the Trailblazers have hit below .200 in three of their last five outings.
Kaitlyn Barnes has excelled on defense since putting on the libero jersey against Montana, leading the team with an average of 3.2 digs per set, including a season-high 16 digs against Idaho State. Audrey Atwood has been Southern Utah's best two-way player of the season, averaging a team-second-best 1.74 digs per set in addition to her team-leading 2.09 kills per set.
The Trailblazers
Utah Tech is 20-4 overall and sits atop the Big Sky standings at 13-1 with its lone conference loss coming to Idaho State on Thursday. The Trailblazers are led by their defense which averages 2.6 blocks per set while holding opponents to just a .157 hitting percentage. On offense, the Traiblazers average 13.5 kills per set and hold the second-best hitting percentage in the conference with a season mark of .237.
Thunderbirds vs Trailblazers Part One
Southern Utah and Utah Tech last played on Sept. 29 in St. George, with the Trailblazers winning 3-1 (25-18, 25-21, 23-25, 25-18). The Thunderbirds had one of their best defensive performances of the season against their rivals, recording nine total blocks and holding the Trailblazers to a hitting percentage of just .187 for the match. Audrey Atwood led the team with 10 kills while Natalie Moore and Emilia Linden added seven kills and three total blocks each. Click for full recap or box score.
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