OFFICIAL NCAA WEST REGION CHAMPIONSHIP HOMEPAGE

(MATCH NOTES)

OPENING SERVE: The 2015 Pacific West Conference champion Dixie State women's volleyball team (19-10) begins its quest for a national championship this weekend as the Storm travels to Anchorage, Alaska for the 2015 NCAA Division II West Regionals, which will held Dec. 4-6. The Storm was awarded the West Region's No. 8 seed and will face region top-seed and Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion Alaska Anchorage (26-2) on Friday at 7:30 p.m. (AKST), inside the Alaska Airlines Center. DSU and Alaska Anchorage met earlier this season on Sept. 12, with the Seawolves claiming a 3-0 win in Ellensburg, Wash.

Dixie State, which has earned an NCAA Tournament bid each of the last three seasons, won 16 of its last 19 matches overall to claim its first-ever PacWest volleyball title and the conference's automatic bid to the regionals. Rounding out the West Region field is No. 2 seed Western Washington (23-5), which will face PacWest member No. 7 seed Point Loma (20-9), No. 3 seed Sonoma State (26-3) will play No. 6 UC San Diego (19-11), and No. 4 seed Cal State San Bernardino (26-5) will take on No. 5 seed Central Washington (20-7). The West Region semifinals will be played on Saturday, Dec. 5, and the regional final will take place on Sunday, Dec. 6.

DIXIE STATE VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS: DSU and UAA have met on the volleyball court five previous times, with the Seawolves holding a 3-2 advantage in the series, including the 3-0 victory over the Storm in Sept. In all, DSU is 6-12 combined against all-time the tournament field (0-2 vs. WWU, 0-1 vs. SSU, 0-0 against CSUSB, 0-2 vs. CWU, 0-1 vs. UCSD and 4-3 vs. PLNU).

COACHING STAFF: 2015 PacWest Coach of the Year Robyn Felder (Eastern Washington, 2002) is in her fourth season on the Storm bench. Felder has posted a 65-43 overall record during her tenure, including a 22-9 mark in 2014 in leading the Storm all the way the NCAA West Region final (Sweet 16). Felder, who was also named PacWest Co-Coach of the Year in 2013, is joined on the bench by assistant coaches Liz Fisher (fourth season), Whitnee Tupe (fourth season) and volunteer assistant Nate Capps (first season). 

DSU ALL-TIME AT THE NCAA REGIONALS: Dixie State is 2-2 in its previous two NCAA West Regional appearances. Last season, the Storm advanced all the way to the NCAA West Regional final (Sweet 16) as an at-large No. 8 seed selection, upsetting top-seed Northwest Nazarene (3-1) and No. 5 seed BYU-Hawai'i (3-1) before falling in the regional title game to No. 7 seed Sonoma State (1-3). In 2013, DSU made its first-ever NCAA tourney appearance as an at-large No. 6 seed, but was defeated in the first round by No. 3 seed UC San Diego (1-3).

QUICK HITS: Fifteen of DSU's 19 wins this year have come in four sets or less, including the last five Storm victories overall ... this season the Storm is 15-3 when they win the first set and 11-2 when up 2-0 ... Dixie State has had four players register 10 or kills in a match four times this season - in wins at UHH (11/14), at FPU (10/21) and at home vs. AAU (10/17), and in a loss at CBU (9/18).

Senior Makenzi Bird-Murphey (St. George, Utah/Snow Canyon HS) earned second-team all-PacWest honors this season ... she has reached double figures in kills eight times, including a career-high 17 kills in a win at Concordia-Irvine (10/31) ... she is third on the team in kills (227) overall and leads the club with a .288 hitting percentage (min 200 att.), second on the team in total blocks with 69.0 (11 solo) and is third on team in aces with 25 ... Bird-Murphey currently stands as DSU's career leader in block assists (234) and is third in total blocks (258), fourth in solo blocks (24), sixth in career kills (601) and is in the top-five in career hitting percentage.

Junior Delayne Daniel (American Fork, Utah/Pleaseant Grove HS) was also named to the PacWest's second team this year ... she leads DSU and is in the top-20 in the conference in kills (291), having reached double figures in kills in 15 of 29 matches played, including a career-high 19 kills vs. Notre Dame de Namur (9/23) ... she is also third on the team in digs (249) and in the process has posted a team-high 11 double-doubles (kills/digs), with eight of those coming in league play.

Senior Alex Anderson (Prescott, Ariz./Prescott HS) became a three-time all-PacWest honoree by earning third team recognition this season ... she leads the team and is top-five in the conference in digs with 537 ... has recorded double figures in digs in 25 of 29 matches, including a career-high 40 digs vs. Chaminade (10/7) ... A. Anderson is also tied for the team lead in aces with 28 and is one of only three players to have played in all 110 sets this year ... named PacWest Defensive Player of the Week (9/28) ... she is second on DSU's career digs (1,731) list and is currently fourth in career aces (81) ... A. Anderson also became the program's all-time leader in sets played at Hawai'i Hilo (11/14), a number that now stands at 384.

Junior Lindsay Jones (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) was named to the PacWest third team ... she finished the regular season second on the team in kills (227), having reached double figures in kills 10 times, including a season-high 14 kills in the win over California Baptist (11/4) ... she has hit .350 or better 10 times this season, while on defense has recorded five or more blocks eight times, including a career-high tying nine blocks vs. Northwest Nazarene (9/11) ... Jones, who was named PacWest Defender of the Week (10/28), currently stands as DSUs career leader in hitting percentage (.291).

Sophomore Brette Anderson (Prescott, Ariz./Prescott HS) earned honorable mention recognition ... she reached double figures in kills in eight matches this season, including a career-high 17 kills at California Baptist (9/18) ... B. Anderson is one of five DSU players to reach 200+ kills on the year and is third on the team in hitting percentage at .263 (min. 200 A) ... she has also recorded five-plus total blocks in three matches, including a career-best four blocks at Hawaii Hilo (11/14).

Freshman OH Taylor Duryea (Logan, Utah/Sky View HS) enters the Regional fourth on the team in kills with 222, having reached double figures in kills in 13 of 29 matches, including a team and career-high 21 kills vs. Notre Dame de Namur (9/23) ... she is second behind Daniel in KPS at 2.61 and fifth in hitting percentage (.214) ... Duryea is a two-time PacWest Freshman of the Week honoree, earning the award in consecutive weeks (11/2 and 11/9).

Junior setter Kailey Frei (Orem, Utah/Timpanogos HS) averaged 37.4 assists (9.86 aps) per match this season ... she has recorded 40+ assists 13 times and 50+ assists five times, including 51 dimes at Azusa Pacific (10/30) and a career-high 54 assists vs. NDNU (9/23) ... Frei has also posted six double-doubles (assists/digs), second only two Daniel's team-high 11.

Sophomore libero Talia Brown (Kahuku, Hawai'i/Kahuku HS) is second on the team in digs with 265 and has recorded double-digits in digs in 14 of 29 matches this season, including seven of her last nine outings ... she recorded a career-high 16 digs vs. Lewis (9/23) ... Brown, A. Anderon and Frei are the only three players to have played in all 110 sets for DSU this season.

HEAD COACH ROBYN FELDER ON THE STORM:  "It's very exciting to go back [to the NCAA regionals] for the third time. We have a lot of new players, but hopefully the seasoned veterans will lead the way. We're excited to face Alaska-Anchorage again. We saw them in the preseason and I know they gotten a lot better, and I know we've gotten a lot better. Hopefully we can go to Alaska and play our best volleyball of the season."

UP NEXT: The winner of the NCAA West Region will advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, which will be held Dec. 10-12, in Tampa, Fla.