(MATCH NOTES)

OPENING SERVE: Dixie State (3-4/0-0 PacWest) officially begins its Pacific West Conference title defense this weekend as the Trailblazers head out on the road for two matches in southern California. DSU opens league play on Friday night with a date at Point Loma (2-6/0-0 PacWest) at 7 p.m. (PT) in San Diego. Dixie State will then travel up the I-5/I-405 to Irvine to play at Concordia University Irvine on Saturday at 6 p.m. (PT).

DIXIE STATE VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS: Dixie State is 4-3 all-time vs. Point Loma, which includes a split of two matches last season as both teams defended their respective home courts. Dixie State is 1-2 in three previous trips to Golden Gymnasium, including a 3-0 loss last season.
    Saturday's match at CUI will be the third-ever meeting between the Trailblazers and Eagles on the volleyball court, with DSU claiming the first two games played in the series last season, a 3-1 home win last September, and a 3-2 triumph in Irvine the last time the two teams met this past Halloween.

COACHING STAFF: 2015 PacWest Coach of the Year Robyn Felder (Eastern Washington, 2002) is in her fifth season on the Trailblazer bench. Felder has posted a 68-48 overall record during her tenure, including a 19-11 record last season in leading DSU to its first-ever Pacific West championship. In 2014, she led DSU to its best record in the program's NCAA Division II-era, a 22-9 overall mark, which included a trip to 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 (fifth season), Nate Capps (second season), and former DSU standout Makenzi Bird-Murphey (St. George, Utah/Snow Canyon HS) (student assistant, first season).  
    Felder is 4-3 all-time vs. Point Loma and 2-0 against CUI.

TRAILBLAZERS PICKED SECOND IN PACWEST IN 2016: Defending PacWest champion Dixie State was picked to finish second in the conference's preseason coaches' poll released on August 25.
    California Baptist narrowly surpassed DSU in the poll, 189-180, as the Lancers received eight of the 14 possible first-place votes, while the Trailblazers collected five first places nods. Point Loma (158 points) and Concordia University Irvine (131) finished third and fourth, respectively, followed by Azusa Pacific (127) in fifth, Chaminade in sixth (121), and BYU-Hawaii (116) picked up one first place vote en route to seventh place to round out the top-half of the poll.
    Dixie State senior Kailey Frei (Orem, Utah/Timpanogos HS) was named PacWest Preseason Setter of the Year, while she and senior outside hitter Delayne Daniel (Pleasant Grove, Utah/Pleaseant Grove HS) were voted onto the preseason all-PacWest team.

WEEK IN REVIEW: The Trailblazers are coming a tough 1-3 result in four games at the 2016 D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase last weekend in Rohnert Park, Calif. Three of DSU's four losses came against ranked teams, including current No. 19 Western Washington (0-3), No. 12 Alaska Anchorage (1-3) and No. 13 Cal State San Bernardino (1-3). However Dixie State did managed to salvage the trip with a 3-0 sweep of host Sonoma State in its Showcase finale last Saturday.

QUICK HITS: Daniel finished with 48 total kills (3.4 KPS/12.0 KPM) and 40 total digs (10.0 DPM) at the Showcase last weekend ... she led DSU in kills in three of four matches, including a season-high 18 kills (one off her career-high) along with 11 digs (third double-double of the year) vs. UAA, and collected 17 more kills vs. CSUSB ... Daniel also had four aces and three total blocks in the four matches.
    Senior MB Lindsay Garrett (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) recorded a game and season-high 12 kills in the win at Sonoma State and had 10 kills and a career-high six digs vs. UAA ... after missing the first three matches of the year, sophomore libero Sidney Brandon (Bountiful, Utah/Bountiful HS) returned to the DSU line-up at the Showcase and responded with 71 total digs in the four matches (17.75 DPM/5.07 DPS) and 10 combined assists ... she led the team in digs in all four matches – 15 digs vs. WWU, 19 vs. both UAA and Sonoma, and 18 vs. CSUSB.
    Junior MB Malary Marshall (Hurricane, Utah/Hurricane HS) picked up a DSU career-high three digs at Sonoma State and was credited with a season-high four blocks vs. UAA ... freshman OH Kayla Chapman (Fullerton, Calif./Troy HS) put down a career-high six kills vs. CSUSB, while freshman OH Amanda Schultz (Springville, Utah/Springville HS) notched a career-best with three kills in the Showcase opener vs. WWU ... freshman libero Rebekah Farris (Kuna, Idaho/Kuna HS) recorded a career-high seven digs vs. UAA and had career-bests in aces (2) and assists (2) at Sonoma State.
    As a team DSU is hitting .141, while Trailblazer opponents are hitting at a .200 clip through the first seven matches of 2016 ... DSU collected 21 service aces last weekend and have 46 on the year, compared to just 27 combined by its seven opponents ... DSU is averaging 11.28 kills, 15.68 digs and 2.00 blocks per set.

HEAD COACH ROBYN FELDER ON THE TRAILBLAZERS: ?"Finally PacWest play is beginning! This preseason has been so good for us and we have learned so much. We are not where we want to be yet, but we are getting better every day. We definitely found out where we are weak and the girls have come back into the gym this week with a renewed work ethic to get better. This is always a tough road trip but we are excited to compete and look forward to playing well."

UP NEXT: Dixie State will play five of its next six matches at home inside the DSU SAC, beginning with a pair of PacWest matches against Holy Names on Saturday, Sept. 24, at 12 noon, followed by a game vs. Hawai'i Hilo on Monday, Sept. 26, at 6 p.m.