CEDAR CITY, Utah — The Thunderbird volleyball team will travel to play Northern Arizona University on Tuesday, November 6, then return home to play the University of Northern Colorado on Friday, November 9.
“We are hoping to carry over all of the defensive improvements that we made in Montana this past week,” head coach Pete Hoyer said. “I’ve said it all season but it really is true, we have to take care of our side of the net first. Once we control our emotional, physical and mental state, we become a very competitive team in the Big Sky.”
Last Time Out
The Thunderbirds went 2-0 last week, sweeping the state of Montana with a 3-2 win over Montana State University and a 3-0 win over the University of Montana.
Janet Kalaniuvalu led SUU in kills with 24 over the course of the weekend, trailed closely by Miranda Canez who had 22 kills, 16 of them coming from the Montana State match where she set a personal kill record. Anna Hopkins topped the charts in blocks with 13, followed by Emma Mangum who had 11. Defensively, Miahna Waters led the Thunderbirds totalling 47 digs. Alexis Averett had 84 assists and one service ace.
The Thunderbirds are now 5-21, 4-10 in Big Sky Conference play.
Opponent Preview: NAU Lumberjacks (19-8, 11-3 BSC)
The Lumberjacks currently sit second in Big Sky Conference standings and went 2-0 in last weeks play. NAU downed the Montana Grizzlies 3-1, as well as the Montana State Bobcats 3-1.
Kaylee Jorgenson leads the Lumberjacks offensively tallying 321 kills on the season. Libero Jordan Anderson leads the team defensively with 493 digs. Setter Abby Stomp has 605 assists.
Ken Murphey enters his sixth season as head coach for the Lumberjacks.
In their last meeting, SUU lost 3-1 to NAU on Oct. 8, 2018.
Opponent Preview: UNC Bears (12-11, 8-6 BSC)
The Bears lost both games last week, falling 3-2 to Weber State and 3-1 to Idaho State.
Kourtney Lockey leads the Bears offense with 287 kills on the season. Middle blocker Lauren Hinrichs is first in blocks with 39 . Defensively the Bears depend on defensive specialist Taylor Els who has 478 digs on the season.
Heach coach Lyndsey Oates in amidst her fourteenth season at UNC.
In their last meeting SUU fell to UNC 3-1 on Oct. 11, 2018.
Live Stats/Live Stream
A live stream for all of Southern Utah’s mentioned matches will be available on PlutoTV and WatchBigSky.com
Story and Photo Courtesy of: SUU Athletics Strategic Communication
