CEDAR CITY, Utah -- Southern Utah women's volleyball travels to Flagstaff, Ariz., to take on Northern Arizona on Friday at 7:30 pm MDT as the Thunderbirds make their official return to the Big Sky Conference. It will be the first match in Big Sky play in five years for Southern Utah, who will be looking for a statement win against its old rival in the Lumberjacks.

The Thunderbirds

The Thunderbirds wrapped their non-conference schedule last week by hosting two matches at the America First Event Center and claimed their first win of 2026 by defeating Chicago State on Friday before dropping a hard-fought match against UC Riverside. Southern Utah will look for its offense to take another step forward this week as it faces a tough Northern Arizona defense that averages more than two blocks and 15 digs per set, and has held opponents to a sub-.200 hitting percentage.

The Thunderbirds will need Maya Banks to be at her best as the sophomore transfer has shown herself to be a difference maker as she leads all Southern Utah players with 77 kills and is second with 24 total blocks. Natalie Moore also has the chance to make her presence felt as she leads the team in total blocks with 31 and recorded a season-high 11 kills in the team's win against Chicago State last week.

Also look for Kaitlyn Hoelker and Ryen Smith to step up. After finishing second on the team in kills as a freshman, Hoelker went on a streak of five straight matches with at least five kills that ended against UC Riverside. She'll be looking to get back on track against the Lumberjacks and give her team a boost in the process. Meanwhile, Smith has quickly become a reliable option on offense since her return after missing the first three matches of the season, recording 28 kills during her last four matches, including leading the team with 17 kills last week. Perhaps most impressively for Smith, she has only had one match in that span hitting below .300.

On the back line, Zorana Stankoksva leads the team with 74 digs for the season, including 47 during her last five matches.Kaitlyn Barnes has proven to be a reliable defensive presence as well with at least six digs in three of her last four outings. Celeste Uruena Jensen and Talea Berry have developed into an effective duo at the setter position as Uruena Jensen leads the team with more than four assists per set, and Berry isn't far behind at nearly 3.75 while also leading the team with a remarkable 13 service aces.

Scouting Report

Northern Arizona comes into Thursday's matchup at 7-5, having won two of its three matches last week at the USF Challenge in San Francisco. The Lumberjacks are a defensive-minded team, recording no fewer than five total blocks and 40 total digs in any match this season. On offense, however, they have shown more weaknesses for opponents to exploit, with only a 4-5 record when hitting below .230 as a team.

Priority number one for the Thunderbird defense will be shutting down outside hitter Hanah Stoddard. The redshirt senior currently averages more than 3.5 kills per set and leads the Lumberjacks in total kills by a significant amount. After Stoddard, Northern Arizona has an additional two players with more than 90 kills this season for Southern Utah to deal with in Gigi Greenlee with 104 and Quincey Coyle with 93. It will take an extremely smart offensive attack for Southern Utah to break through the Lumberjack defense as six different players have at least 20 blocks for the year, led by Gigi Greenlee's 57. Meanwhile, Northern Arizona's back line defense is anchored by a trio of players with over 100 digs on the season in Lilly Holmes, Hanah Stoddard, and Quincey Coyle. Look for Southern Utah's hitters to get creative and switch up looks early and often to try and confuse the Lumberjack defense and get any advantage possible.

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