Dixie State got back to its winning ways Saturday afternoon as the Storm picked up a 3-1 victory over Pacific West Conference foe Hawai'i Pacific, 25-22, 18-25, 28-26, 25-23, at the DSU Student Activities Center. DSU has won five of six during its season-long seven-match homestand in improving to 8-8, 5-3 in PacWest play, while the Sharks fell to 11-6/6-3.

Dixie State fell behind by three points in the early going of the first set, but the Storm was able to erase the deficit to pull even at 9-9. Both teams would trade points until DSU managed to string together a quick 6-1 run to turn an 18-18 tie into a 24-19 Storm lead at set point. However the Sharks would fight back with four-straight points and had a chance for a fifth, but a hitting error proved costly and DSU came away with the first set win.

HPU trailed only once in set two, that being at 1-0, but from there the Sharks were in control as they managed to blow open the frame with a 12-5 run to race out to a 19-10 lead en route to the seven-point set win. The Storm and Sharks slugged it out in set three as both teams enjoyed four-point leads in the stanza, though neither team could put the other away. DSU served for the set leading 24-23, but the Sharks were able to induce a hitting error to extend the set. Tied at 26 apiece, Dixie State took advantage of an HPU error and freshman hitter Taylor Duryea (Logan, Utah/Sky View HS) close the set out with one of her team-high 15 kills to give DSU a 2-1 advantage.

Dixie State led virtually the entire deciding fourth set and held a commanding 20-14 lead after consecutive solo blocks from junior Kailey Frei (Orem, Utah/Timpanogos HS). However the Sharks would mount one more rally, outscoring the Storm 10-3 to pull to within 24-23 with service honors. But this time the Storm would prevail as Duryea came up with another big kill to end the match.

"This is a really big win for us," DSU Head Coach Robyn Felder said. "[HPU] is a great program and we have a battle like this with them every year. We weren't able to finish [last Wednesday] against Chaminade, but we had our chances. I kept telling these girls that we have to finish strong, stay in the zone and go after it and not play to lose. I think they did that and we took big swings at the end of the game and that how you win games by being aggressive."

DSU finished with 56 kills on the day, with junior Delayne Daniel (American Fork, Utah/Pleaseant Grove HS) posting a double-double with 13 kills and 11 digs, while Duryea added nine digs to go with her 15 kills. Frei also notched a double-double with a match-high 42 assists and 10 digs to go with three solo blocks.

Dixie State will close out its seven-match homestand next Saturday afternoon, Oct. 17, vs. Academy of Art at 12 noon at the DSU SAC.