Still looking for their first win of the regular season, the Southern Utah University women’s volleyball team heads to Flagstaff, Arizona for a three-game tournament. SUU will first play Texas Tech University on Friday, Sept. 12 at 10 a.m.
Following this game, SUU will match up against University of California San Diego later that day at 4:30 p.m. The T-Birds final game will come on Saturday, Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. against Northern Arizona University.
All three games can be streamed on ESPN+.
Southern Utah
It’s been a slow start to the season for first year head coach Danielle Jensen and the T-Birds. SUU is 0-6 on the year and has been swept in three of their six games. The competition continues to get tougher, as their next three teams have a combined record of 9-9.
Despite struggles early on, outside hitter Victoria Zibecchi has been a bright spot for the T-Birds. Zibecchi, a senior from Argentina, leads Southern Utah with 55 kills and an average of 2.29 kills per set.
Defensively, SUU is led by juniors Amaya Tobias and Kaitlyn Aleshire. Tobias leads Southern Utah with 19 blocks while Aleshire is second on the team with 16.
Texas Tech
The Red Raiders come into this week winners of four of their last five and are 4-2 on the season. In their last tournament, Texas Tech went 2-1 in the Georgia Tournament, with wins over Duke University and Alabama State University.
A large reason for their success has been the offensive dominance Reagan Engler has shown. Engler, a junior from Grapevine, Texas, leads the Red Raiders with 87 kills on the season.
On the other side of things, graduate student Aliyah McDonald has been a force up front. McDonald leads the team with 24 and zero errors on the season.
UC San Diego
After starting the season 1-0, the Tritons have lost five straight and are 1-5 on the year. UC San Diego will look to bounce back and snap their five-game losing streak.
Although they have struggled lately, sophomore outside hitter Molly McCluskey has been lethal. McCluskey has recorded 92 kills, averaging 4.6 kills per set.
Defensively, senior Jasmine Saran has been one of the best defenders for UC San Diego. Saran has 20 blocks to just one error.
Northern Arizona
Like Texas Tech, the Lumberjacks are 4-2 in the regular season and are the host of the tournament. NAU is coming off of wins against Grand Canyon University and East Texas A&M University.
Part of the success early has been the strong up front play of Hanah Stoddard. The redshirt junior from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho has 98 kills on the year, including a season-high 20 kills against Grand Canyon.
On the opposite side of things, Gigi Greenlee and Masina Perez have been big for the Lumberjacks on the defensive side of things. Greenlee leads the team with 32 blocks and only one error while Perez is second with 20 blocks.
Author: Jack Paul
Photographer: SUU Athletics
Editor: Heather Turner
