DSU Volleyball opened its 2015 season with split of its first two games at the Cal State Los Angeles Invitational Friday. The Storm (1-1) were swept in their opening match by the host Golden Eagles in three games, 21-25, 15-25, 18-25. However DSU returned the favor to Seattle Pacific, taking the nightcap in three games, 25-21, 25-16, 25-22.
Against CSULA, the Storm led by as many as four points in the opening set, 14-10, but the Golden Eagles responded with three-straight points and outscored DSU 15-7 the rest of the way to claim the opening stanza. CSULA rode that momentum to take the second set in dominating fashion, and never trailed in the final set to complete the sweep.
Senior libero Alex Anderson (Prescott, Ariz./Prescott HS) led Dixie State with 11 digs, while junior setter Kailey Frei (Orem, Utah/Timpanogos HS) had 23 assists to go with five kills at five digs. Junior Delayne Daniel (American Fork, Utah/Pleaseant Grove HS) and senior Makenzi Bird-Murphey (St. George, Utah/Snow Canyon HS) each had seven kills to lead the Storm. Dixie State had 32 kills overall on 80 attempts for a .250 hitting percentage in the match. CSULA registered .359 hitting percentage in the victory, registering 41 kills on 78 attempts.
In the second match of the day the Storm and Falcons battled back and forth in the opening set, but Dixie State broke a 17-17 tie by scoring eight of the frame's final 12 points to take a 1-0 lead. In the second stanza, DSU scored six-straight points and outscored SPU 8-1 in taking control of the match. SPU came out hot in third set, outscoring Dixie 10-2, but the Storm chipped away at the deficit and eventually drew even at 17-17. The Storm then took the lead for good at 19-18 on a Gianna Kioa (Phoenix, Ariz./Thunderbird HS) kill, who then clinched the sweep for Dixie with her fifth and final kill of the night to end the match.
"It was a much better performance this afternoon," DSU Head Coach Robyn Felder said. "The energy was good and we were ready to fight. We are learning how to work together and each one of these games is a learning experience for us to get better for conference play."
Sophomore hitter Brette Anderson (Prescott, Ariz./Prescott HS) led the Storm with a career-high 11 kills, while Frei had 30 assists on DSU's 42 total kills. Dixie also recorded 19 total blocks in the match, including eight by junior Lindsay Jones (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) and five from Kioa.
In addition to DSU's defense, SPU was done in by 24 attack errors and the Falcons finished with a .040 hitting percentage.
Dixie State closes play at the CSULA tourney with a pair of matches Saturday. The Storm opens play vs. Molloy College at 9 a.m. (PT), followed by a match against Lewis University at 4:30 p.m. (PT).
