Nearing the end of the regular season, the Southern Utah University women’s volleyball team will go on the road to face Utah Valley University on Thursday, Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. Following that game, SUU will head to St. George to take on Utah Tech University on Saturday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m.
Utah Valley and Utah Tech are currently the top two teams in the Western Athletic Conference, and SUU is in last place.
Southern Utah
The T-Birds come into this week 2-16 on the season and 1-6 in WAC play. SUU is currently on a four-game losing streak and has won two sets in their last four games.
One main issue SUU has had is their accuracy. Southern Utah currently has a 13% hitting percentage compared to their opponents’ 23.7% percentage, and have struggled with errors on both sides of the ball. SUU’s best attacker Victoria Zibecchi has 164 kills and a kill percentage of 16.5%, but leads the team in errors.
Defensively, the T-Birds have five different players that have recorded 100 or more digs. Libero Aleeya Jones leads the way with 171, followed by junior setter Asya Akbulut with 115. Jones has also been one of the top servers in conference play, ranking second in the WAC in service aces.
Utah Valley
The Wolverines have been the best team in the WAC over the last three weeks. UVU is 10-9 overall but is 6-1 in conference play with all of their wins being sweeps. They’re currently on a four-game win streak and are 7-3 in their last 10 games.
UVU has possibly the best front line in college women’s volleyball. Bella Wooden and Alyvia Jaffa have been elite contributors to that, combining for 234 blocks. Wooden ranks second in Division 1 with 1.96 blocks per set.
Avery Page has been incredible for Utah Valley, earning WAC Player of the Week.. Page is averaging 3.36 kills per set, ranking No. 2 in the conference and rivaled only by Utah Tech’s Kennedi Knudsen.
Utah Tech
Like Utah Valley, the Trailblazers have been one of the best teams over the past month. They have a 15-5 record overall, a 6-2 WAC standing and a dominant 6-0 home record.
Utah Tech has a very balanced attack led by Knudsen. The senior from Gunnison, Utah has a WAC-leading 261 kills. After Knudsen, UTU has five different players with 100 or more kills.
The Trailblazers also have two of the best defenders in the conference up front. Casidy Fried and Taylor Snow have combined for 184 blocks, so SUU’s work will be cut out for them on the offensive against both of their upcoming opponents
Previous matchup
SUU lost 3-0 to both UVU and Utah Tech earlier this year. They’re 2-15 against the Wolverines all-time, with their last win coming in 2014, and are 5-5 against the Trailblazers all-time.
Author: Jack Paul
Photographer: SUU Athletics
Editor: Payson Davis
