ST. GEORGE, Utah - Happy to be home, the Dixie State women's volleyball team made quick work of the match against Academy of Art with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-19) sweep of the Urban Knights on Tuesday night.

The Red Storm (14-6, 11-1) was back at home to play for the first time in 17 days and relished the opportunity of home-court advantage.

"I thought the girls really passed well and got some offense going early," head coach Robyn Felder said. "After a long road trip to Hawaii, it was good getting back in our gym and playing in front of our home crowd. We have a lot of momentum and confidence right now and are hoping to keep the ball rolling."

The team hit .337 for the match with a combined 44 kills and 6.0 team blocks. Kendahl Weiland (Albany, OR/West Albany) had five block assists to lead the strong play at the net to go along with her 10 kills. DSU held Academy of Art (9-11, 4-8) to .127 hitting for the match.

Edithza Urias (Bakersfield, CA/Golden Valley) led with 15 kills for the Red Storm and Maddie Rex (Tucson, AZ/Sabino) added 10, an ace and four digs. 

The Red Storm pulled ahead by five points in the opening set to lead 12-7. The Knights stayed in it though and cut the lead down to one point on two different occasions. At 22-21, Dixie State went on a 3-1 clip to close it, featuring back-to-back kills from Weiland to win the opening set.

Academy of Art held onto an early lead until DSU battled back to go ahead 10-9 and never looked back. The Storm pushed ahead to a 20-12 advantage behind a 9-2 run. Shelby Sorenson (Lehi, UT/Lehi) had one ace and Hannah Harrah (Saint George, UT/Dixie) had back-to-back aces to highlight a serving clinic for Dixie State. The Red Storm cruised in set two to a 25-17 win.

Set three was similar, staying close early on before another big run from Dixie State. This time it was an 11-2 stretch that put the set and the match away. Dixie State took the third set 25-19, holding off a late surge from the Urban Knights.

Dixie State is back in the Student Activities Center on Homecoming, Oct. 25 at noon.