Looking for their first win of the season, the Southern Utah University women’s volleyball team is set to host a three-game tournament starting on Thursday, Sept. 4 at 6:30 p.m. against the University of California, Riverside.
SUU will then face Sacramento State University on Friday, Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. and Charleston Southern University on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 1 p.m. All three games will be played in the America First Event Center and can be streamed on ESPN+.
Southern Utah
It was a tough start to the Danielle Jensen era as Southern Utah went 0-3 in their first tournament of the year. In those three games, SUU averaged only 16 points per set and was swept in two of their three games.
Although SUU has struggled early, outside hitter Amaya Tobias had a solid start to her junior season. Tobias recorded 20 kills in the three matches averaging 1.82 kills per set.
Defensively, Tobias and junior Kaitlyn Aleshire both have recorded six blocks on the year. Victoria Zibecchi is third on the team with four.
UC Riverside
The Highlanders enter this week 1-2 on the year after dropping the last two games in the Central Florida Tournament. As a team, UC Riverside is deadly up front, recording 123 kills in three games.
Junior outside hitter Mia Delahoussaye leads the team with 33 kills. Delahoussaye has also recorded three service aces. Senior Sophia Ewalefo is second on the team with 31 kills.
Sacramento State
Like Southern Utah, Sacramento State has struggled to start the season, going winless in their first three games in the Sacramento State Invitational. One cause for the struggles are the serve issues. The Hornets have already committed 23 service errors.
Despite the struggles, sophomore outside hitter Victoria Marthaler has been dominant up front. Marthaler has recorded 35 kills, averaging 3.36 kills per set.
Charleston Southern
The Buccaneers enter this week 2-1 on the year and are poised to try and play upset this week. Charleston Southern, a member of the Big South Conference, is set to face SUU for just the second time in program history.
Although the Buccaneers have a 2-1 record, serving has been a big issue for Charleston Southern. In three games, CSU has recorded 44 service aces.
Southern Utah is 2-4 all-time against UC Riverside, 5-12 against Sacramento State and 1-0 against Charleston Southern.
Author: Jack Paul
Photographer: SUU Athletics
Editor: Heather Turner
