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WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL: The Thunderbirds will take their final road trip of the month of October this weekend when they travel to face South Dakota State and league-leading North Dakota State on Friday and Saturday. Both games are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. (MT).
"We are expecting both games to be a great battle," head coach Debby Baker said of the games. "North Dakota State hasn't lost a match in conference this season and has played really tough. It will be a great game to see what kind of heart our girls have and how they come out and play."
Southern Utah will enter the games following back-to-back losses last week and will be looking to break out of the losing funk. The Thunderbirds were shorthanded last week with injuries and illness and will also be hoping for a healthier squad for the weekend.
Analaine Pelaez leads the team in several categories, including total attempts (1,081), kills (353) and kills per set (4.20) and is second on the team with 21 service aces. Courtney Lelepali is tops on the team in aces with 23 and also leads the team with 318 digs this season.
Leading blocker Cashaana Renfro is expected to be back in the line-up this weekend as the Fairbanks, Alaska, native was nursing a sprained ankle last week. Renfro leads the team with 55 blocks this season.
Southern Utah lost both matches to South Dakota State and North Dakota State at home earlier this season.
WOMEN'S SOCCER: The Thunderbirds will host their final two regular-season games of the season at home this week when the T-Birds face the Centenary Ladies and Oral Roberts Golden Eagles on the Thunderbird soccer pitch.
"These are our last two regular season games," head coach Brian Stock said. "The team has given a lot of blood, sweat and tears this year and we expect to finish strong."
Southern Utah will enter the games riding a five-game losing streak and will look to right the ship during the final two contests. The T-Birds will also be looking to break a scoring a drought, having not recorded a goal over the last five games.
Sophomore Riley Bassett is leading the team in several statistical categories, including shots (54), points (8), assists (4) and shots on goal (28). Bassett is second on the team in goals with two on the season, trailing team-leaders Makell Southworth and Erin Marble, who have each recorded three goals.
Southern Utah has struggled in goal this year as both keepers, Breana Fitzgerald and Charly Booth, are carrying a goals-against average over 2.00. Both are freshmen, with Fitzgerald signing with the team prior to the 2009 season and Booth signing with the team prior to the 2008 season. Booth missed the entire 2008 campaign nursing an injury.
Game time on Thursday is scheduled for 3 p.m. with Saturday's game scheduled to begin at noon.
MEN'S GOLF: The Thunderbirds cut 20 strokes off their second-round score Tuesday to move up one place and finish 16th at Cal State Northridge's Bill Cullum Invitational at Simi Valley, Calif.
The Thunderbirds, who shot 304-308 on Monday, shot 288 on Tuesday, as all but one player carded his best round of the tournament.
Sophomore John Lindsay shot a 68 on Tuesday to lead the team and jumped from 73rd to 41st place in the final standings with a cumulative score of 224. Jeff Evans shot a 72, Tai Reynolds shot a 73 and Denny Job shot a 75 Tuesday — the best scores of the tournament for all three — while Brad Millard shot 76.
Millard finished tied with Lindsay in 41st, while Evans (227) was 61st, Reynolds (229) was 66th and Job (232) finished 74th.
Pacific won the team title by shooting a tournament-record 843.
MEN'S BASKETBALL: The Thunderbirds tipped off their 2009-10 season Tuesday night with their annual Varsity Preview Intra-squad game, and head coach Roger Reid said he was pleased with what he saw on the night.
"We've got a lot of work to do, but I'm pleased for the first time out," he noted. "The sky's the limit for this team. We're going to have our ups and downs, but there is a lot of potential on this team."
Freshmen centers Matt Hodgson and Dallin Bachynksi were the leading scorers with 24 and 19 points, respectively, while senior wing Davis Baker and sophomore forward Matt Massey each scored 15 points.
Hodgson and Massey are both Australians, while Bachynski came to SUU from Canada.
The teams were split into different squads in each half, with Hodgson and Bachynski playing on opposite sides all night long, but alongside everyone else.
Massey led all rebounders with seven, while Hodgson, freshman Jackson Stevenett and senior Byron Byrd each had six. Bachynski had five rebounds, four assists and four steals, while Hodgson blocked four shots.
Jake Nielson led the squad in both assists and steals, with six each.
"I saw some good things out there tonight," Reid said. "We had good chemistry, the guys were unselfish and I thought we had a lot of teamwork."
When asked about the play of his two freshmen centers, Reid said he couldn't have been more pleased for the first time out.
"I'm very pleased with both freshmen tonight," he said. "They both have a lot to learn but they both have some skills, too. Matt's only been playing basketball four years, so he has a tremendous upside. Dallin has great potential as well. It was fun watching the two of them battle each other, each one had success."
The Thunderbirds play their exhibition opener next Tuesday, when they host Mesa State at 7 p.m. in the Centrum.
CROSS COUNTRY: The Thunderbirds will be in the hunt for another conference title when they host the 2009 Summit League Cross Country Championships on Saturday morning. The race will be in Cedar City for the first time since 2001, when the T-Birds swept both the men's and women's titles.
The Thunderbirds will be favored going into the championships, as the men and women each hold three of the top 10 times in the conference this year. The women look especially strong with the No. 1 and No. 2 times in the conference.
Southern Utah's Cameron Levins and Sharla Manuele are leading the Summit League with times of 23:48.5 (8K) and 21:16.5 (6k), respectively. Levins' time is more than 20 seconds faster than Oral Roberts University's Jonah Lagat, who ran an 8K in 24:09.13.
Manuele has an even greater advantage with an almost 30-second differential between Diana Medina (21:43.9). Medina's time is also strong, as it is more than ten second ahead of Carianna Cottone's time 21:53, from Western Illinois.
Southern Utah will make the most of hosting the championships in Cedar City, as the event will take place at an altitude of almost 6,000 feet. SUU is the only school in the conference that trains at altitude, and most teams have only competed at sea level this season.
The Summit League Cross Country Championships will begin at 10 a.m. with the men's race, followed by the starting of the women's race at 11 a.m. Fans are invited to enjoy free doughnuts and their choice of either hot chocolate or coffee during the race.