With the regular season over, the Southern Utah University women’s volleyball team will play in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference volleyball tournament against Utah Tech University on Thursday, Nov. 20 at 3 p.m.
This game will be played in Abilene, Texas and can be streamed live on ESPN+.
Southern Utah
The T-Birds come into the playoffs 3-20 overall and 2-10 in conference play. In Southern Utah’s two matchups against Utah Tech, SUU went 0-2 and never won a set.
Although SUU has struggled against the Trailblazers, they are coming off arguably their best two-game stretch of the year. SUU defeated the University of Texas at Arlington on Nov. 13, then lost to Tarleton State University in a five-set match.
All season long, SUU has been led by Victoria Zibecchi and Kaitlyn Hoelker on offense. Zibecchi, a senior from Villa Angela, Argentina, leads the team with 210 kills. She is coming off her best two-game stretch of the season, recording 31 kills in two games.
Hoelker, a freshman, has made an instant impact for SUU. She tied her highest kill amount in a single game against Tarleton State on Nov. 15. Hoelker is second on the team with 158 kills and was named to the All-WAC Freshman Team.
Defensively, Kaitlyn Aleshire and Amaya Tobias have been the top two players up front. The two have combined for 155 blocks.
Utah Tech
The Trailblazers finish the regular season as one of the hottest teams in the nation. Utah Tech is 19-5 overall, 10-2 in WAC play and finished the year on a four-game win streak. UTU also secured the No. 2 seed in the WAC Tournament.
UTU’s Kennedi Knudsen has been arguably the best outside hitter in the conference. Knudsen, a senior from Gunnison, Utah leads the WAC averaging 4.66 kills a set and has 261 kills on the year.
As a team, Utah Tech ranks No. 1 in the conference in hitting percentage, opponent hitting percentage, assists, kills and digs. In their two games against the T-Birds, the Trailblazers recorded 81 kills and 96 digs.
Defensively, Utah Tech has two different top five players in blocks. Casidy Fried is third in the conference averaging 1.4 blocks per set. Taylor Snow ranks No. 5 in the WAC, averaging 1.2 blocks a set.
Southern Utah is 5-6 all-time against Utah Tech and has lost the last three matchups. The winner of this game will face the winner of Tarleton State and California Baptist University.
Author: Jack Paul
Photographer: SUU Athletics
Editor: Payson Davis