CEDAR CITY, Utah -- The America First Events Center will finally host its first NCAA Volleyball matches of 2026 on Friday and Saturday as Southern Utah wraps up its non-conference schedule. The Thunderbirds will look to draw energy from their home fans as they hunt their first win of the season and build momentum ahead of their first games back in the Big Sky Conference.

Southern Utah will play in two matches:

• Friday, September 18, 6:00 pm MT - vs. Chicago State (Record: 0-9)
• Saturday, September 19, 2:00 pm MT - vs. UC Riverside (Record: 2-6)
  • Both matches available on ESPN+

The Thunderbirds come into this week's matches with tremendous confidence after one of their best team efforts of the season against Seattle and a scrappy effort that saw them stay competitive with a stingy Washington State defense. Thunderbird hitters will look to play a big role this weekend as they take on two defenses that are allowing over 13.5 kills per set this season.

Sophomore Maya Banks continues to lead the Thunderbirds offensively with 64 kills this season, along with a team-second-best 20 blocks, proving her two-way ability. After a slow start to the season, Kaitlyn Hoelker has quickly been heating up, recording 40 kills over her last four matches and helping hold down the back line with 16 digs. Natalie Moore is leading blocker for Southern Utah with five solo and 28 total blocks on the season. Her presence in the middle is sure to be keenly felt with both Thunderbird opponents hitting well below .200 coming into the week.

Chicago State

The Cougars sit at 0-9 and have yet to take a single set in any match played. Their best chance this weekend is their defense, which currently averages 1.6 blocks per set. Chicago State will look to Outside Hitter Nayella George as they try to turn around their slow offensive start to the season. George leads the Cougars in both kills and digs with 45 and 53, respectively. Graci Littlejohn is the defensive player to watch for the Cougars with 28 blocks on the year.

UC Riverside

This will be the third year in a row that the Highlanders make the trip to Cedar City after a Thunderbirds win in 2024 and a UC Riverside win in 2025. The two schools also met in Las Vegas last season, with the Highlanders winning, meaning the Thunderbirds will look to tie the three-year series record on Saturday. The Highlanders started the season 2-2 but come into this match after losing their last four, including a sweep against another Big Sky team in Northern Arizona. Defense is the strength of this team, as the Highlanders average over two blocks per set as a unit and have four separate players in double digits. Zeynep Belgutay leads the defense with 26 blocks, and Evelyn Hendrix will look to cross the 20-block threshold as she sits at 19 for the season. The back-line defense is headlined by Junior Libero Misu Nguyen, who has over 100 digs this season. On offense, UC Riverside will look to Andrea Brewer to carry the load as the Senior averages over three kills per set.

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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.