Dixie State split a pair of matches during day two of the PacWest/GNAC Crossover tournament Friday in Ellenburg, Wash. The Storm (3-4) rallied from a game down to defeat Northwest Nazarene in four games, 14-25, 25-18, 25-19, 25-20, in the team's first match of the day. However DSU could not duplicate the feat in the nightcap vs. Central Washington as the host Wildcats outlasted the Storm in four games, 18-25, 24-26, 26-24, 22-25.

The Storm stumbled out of the gate in game one as NNU scored 13 of the match's first 18 points to lead 13-5. DSU would pull to within six points on a couple of occasions but could not overcome the large deficit in dropping the opening frame.

That opening set served as a wake-up call as Dixie State led wire-to-wire to win the second game, and turned an 8-8 score into a six-point victory in game three. Both teams battled back and forth in game four and the Crusaders looked like they were going to force a decisive fifth game after taking a 15-10 lead. However Dixie State had other ideas as the Storm mounted a furious comeback, outscoring NNU 15-5 the rest of the way, including an 8-1 stretch at one point, to close out the match in four games.

Junior outside hitter Delayne Daniel (American Fork, Utah/Pleaseant Grove HS) had a stellar match in posting her second double-double of the season with a game-high 17 kills and 10 digs, while junior setter Kailey Frei (Orem, Utah/Timpanogos HS) dished out 32 assists and senior libero Alex Anderson (Prescott, Ariz./Prescott HS) finished with 13 digs. DSU finished with 47 kills and hit .206 for the match, while the Storm defense held the Crusaders to a .123 hitting percentage and posted a season-high 13 blocks, including a game-high nine block assists from junior Lindsay Jones (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS).

Against CWU, the Storm and Wildcats were locked in a tight game one battle that featured nine ties, but Central would eventually prevail as it broke a 17-17 deadlock by outscoring Dixie 8-1 to close out the stanza. The Wildcats never trailed in the second game and led by as many as three points, but the Storm was able to stay within striking distance and ultimately tied the game at 24-24. However the Wildcats were able to clinch the set thanks to a pair of DSU errors.

Dixie State came back to win game three, but the task was not easy. After trailing through the first half of the frame, the Storm put together a quick four-point rally to take a 19-15 lead. DSU held a commanding 24-19 advantage, needing only one point to clinch the game, but the Wildcats rallied with five-straight points to knot the score at 24-24. But this time the Storm would prevail as junior Gianna Kioa (Phoenix, Ariz./Thunderbird HS) and Daniel registered kills on consecutive points to give DSU the set victory and extend the match.

In the decisive fourth set, the Wildcats used a 6-2 run to break an 8-8 tie to take a 14-10 lead. Dixie State battled back to pull even at 18-18, but this time the Storm's luck ran out as the Wildcats outscored DSU 7-4 the rest of the way to clinch the match.

Daniel recorded her second double-double of the night (third of the year) with a team-high 13 kills and 13 digs. Jones added 12 kills and seven total blocks, while senior Makenzi Bird-Murphey (St. George, Utah/Snow Canyon HS) finished with 10 kills, and Frei tallied 44 assists. DSU had 50 kills in the match, but was held to a .183 hitting percentage, though the Storm tied their season-high with 13 total blocks.

Central Washington finished with 53 kills and a .215 hitting percentage, and the Wildcats registered 14 total blocks.

Dixie State concludes play at the Crossover on Saturday as the Storm squares off against #14 Alaska-Anchorage at 2:30 p.m. (PT).