Dixie State rebounded from a tough opener to its three-match Hawaiian road swing with a three-game sweep at Chaminade, 25-23, 25-16, 25-23, Friday night in Honolulu. With the win DSU (17-9/14-4 PacWest) opened a 1.5 game lead over BYU-Hawai'i (14-11/12-5 PacWest) in the Pacific West Conference standings, and a two-game lead over California Baptist (19-7/12-6), which lost at Academy of Art Friday, with two conference matches to play in the regular season.

Chaminade, which lost three starters and half of its roster due to suspension earlier in the day, came out inspired in the opening set as the Silverswords jumped out a quick 8-3 lead. After a Dixie timeout, the Storm went to work, outscoring Chaminade 12-4 to erase the deficit and take a 15-12 advantage. CU rallied and regained the lead at 21-19, but Dixie State fought back with four-straight points on an Alex Anderson (Prescott, Ariz./Prescott HS) ace and three-consecutive Chaminade attack errors. Senior Makenzi Bird-Murphey (St. George, Utah/Snow Canyon HS) picked up an ace of her own to set up game point at 24-21, and the Storm finally put the game away on a Silversword service error.

Dixie State broke open a 7-7 tie in frame two with a decisive 12-4 spurt as the Storm got kills from four different players over that stretch en route to the nine point set win.  Chaminade took an early 6-4 lead in game three, but kills from Bird-Murphey, sophomore Brette Anderson (Prescott, Ariz./Prescott HS) and junior Delayne Daniel (American Fork, Utah/Pleaseant Grove HS), and four-straight service aces from junior Kailey Frei (Orem, Utah/Timpanogos HS), erased the deficit and gave the Storm a 12-9 lead.

DSU never trailed from that point on as the Storm kept Chaminade at bay, ultimately ending the match on a Taylor Duryea (Logan, Utah/Sky View HS) kill and another Alex Anderson (Prescott, Ariz./Prescott HS) ace to clinch the win.

"I am proud of the way we responded tonight," DSU Head Coach Robyn Felder said. "Hawai'i is such a tough place to play and we showed a lot of heart in this win. We have one more big game [Saturday at Hawai'i Hilo] and we will be ready."

Junior Lindsay Jones (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) led the Storm with nine kills and six total blocks, while junior Delayne Daniel (American Fork, Utah/Pleaseant Grove HS) finished with seven kills and six digs, and Frei had 29 assists to go with her four aces. DSU recorded a .250 hitting percentage, including a .545 clip in the second set. After being held without a block for the first time in nine seasons the night before at BYU-H, the Storm defense recorded seven team blocks.

Dixie State will close out its Hawaiian road trip Saturday on the Big Island against Hawai'i Hilo at 4:30 p.m. (HT).