The Southern Utah University women’s volleyball team is back on the road as they gear up to face Seattle University on Thursday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m., followed by a rematch against in-state rival Utah Tech University on Monday, Oct. 21, at 6 p.m. Both games can be streamed on ESPN+.
Seattle U
The Redhawks enter this week 3-13 overall, 1-5 in the Western Athletic Conference, and on a three-game losing streak. Seattle U has struggled to find consistency on both sides of the ball. Seattle has allowed 855 kills while only producing 639.
One bright spot has been outside hitter Arianna Bilby. The senior from Arlington, Washington has 187 kills on the year and an average of 3.12 per set. That is good enough for No. 7 in the conference.
Senior Katlyn Sipes has been a leader on the defense for the Redhawks. Sipes is No. 2 in the conference and leads the team in digs with 246. Marley Hardgrave has been the leader up front. The Junior has 49 blocks on the year.
Utah Tech
Back on Oct. 5, Utah Tech found themselves down 2-0 and eventually lost the match 3-1 against Southern Utah. The Trailblazers are 10-6 overall and 4-2 in the WAC.
Utah Tech has received a balance attack from their outside hitters. Kennedi Knudsen leads all Trailblazers with 216 kills, followed by Tessa Treanor with 130, and Hannah Howard with 129.
Defensively, Mya Laufiso leads the team in digs with 223 and an average of 3.66 per set. Cassidy Fried has been outstanding as well. The Junior from Middleton, Idaho ranks second in the conference with 83 blocks.
Southern Utah
A year after going 6-20 overall, Southern Utah is 8-9 and 4-2 in the WAC, their best start in conference play since 2019. The last time SUU finished with a winning conference record was during the 2020-2021 COVID-19 shortened season.
A large part of the Thunderbirds success has come from the consistent play of Andrea Spasjoevic and Finley Charapata. Spasjoevic leads the team with 180 kills followed by Charapata with 137. Teniyah Leuluai leads Southern Utah with 516 assists, good enough for No. 2 in the WAC.
Arianna Rossi has been key on the defensive side of things for SUU. Rossi leads the team with 262 digs. Carissa Richie leads the team with 64 blocks. No other Thunderbird has more than 25.
Southern Utah is 1-2 all-time against Seattle U and 5-3 all-time against Utah Tech.
Author: Jack Paul
Photographer: Gannon Lovisa
Editor: SUU News Copy Editor
