(MATCH NOTES - PDF)

OPENING SERVE: Dixie State (2-6/0-0 PacWest) opens its 2017 home slate and final year of Pacific West Conference play this Saturday, Sept. 16, as the Trailblazers host No. 12 California Baptist (7-0/0-0 PacWest) inside the DSU Student Activities Center beginning at 12 noon.
    Live stats/video links for Saturday's can be found HERE.

DIXIE STATE VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT: Dixie State is 3-10 all-time vs. California Baptist, though the Trailblazers have won three of the past seven meetings overall. DSU dropped both matches to CBU last season, including a hard-fought 3-2 loss (10/22/16) the last time the two sides met in St. George. 

COACHING STAFF: 2015 PacWest Coach of the Year Robyn Felder (Eastern Washington, 2002) is in her sixth season on the Trailblazer bench. Felder has posted a 84-61 overall record during her tenure, including a 17-11 record last season. In 2015, Felder led the Trailblazers to their first-ever Pacific West Conference title and the program's third-straight NCAA West Regional appearance. In addition, five Trailblazers earned all-PacWest honors and Felder was named Conference Coach of the Year. The season before that, she led DSU to its most successful season in the program's Division II era. The Trailblazers played to a 22-9 overall record, which marked the first time Dixie State had reached 20-plus wins in a season since its first year of NCAA play in 2006.
    Felder, who was also named PacWest Co-Coach of the Year in 2013, is joined on the bench by assistant coaches David Richards (first season), Nate Capps (third season), and former DSU standout Lindsay Garrett (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) (student assistant, first season). 

TRAILBLAZERS PICKED THIRD IN PACWEST IN 2017: Heading into its final season of league play, Dixie State was picked to finish third by the Pacific West Conference coaches in the annual preseason poll released by the league on August 23.
    Defending PacWest champion Concordia-Irvine was the overwhelming choice to repeat in 2017 as the Eagles collected 10 out of a possible 14 first-place votes to top the poll with 189 points. California Baptist picked up three first-place nods to finish second with 158 points, followed by the Trailblazers in third with 158 points. Azusa Pacific (one first place vote) came in fourth in the poll with 151 points, while Point Loma (119 points) edged out Hawai'i Pacific (118 points) for fifth place, and Dominican (105 points) rounded out the top half of the poll in seventh.
    DSU, which has finished in the top-three in the PacWest each of the last four years, including the program's first conference crown in 2015, landed one player on the league's awards list. Junior Sid Brandon (Bountiful, Utah/Bountiful HS) was voted 2017 PacWest Preseason Libero of the Year and was named to the preseason all-PacWest team.

WEEK IN REVIEW: Dixie State concluded the non-conference portion of its 2017 regular season schedule last weekend with a split of four games at the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase pod hosted by Central Washington. The Trailblazers posted consecutive 3-2 victories to open tournament, beginning with a five-set thriller vs. Stanislaus State last Thursday. DSU followed that up with a come-from-behind triumph over host CWU in a Friday match that saw the Trailblazers lose the first two sets by a combined 50-26 score. Dixie State then came up of the short end of the final two matches of the tourney vs. UC San Diego (0-3) and Concordia (OR) (1-3).

DSU IN PACWEST OPENERS: Heading into their final season of PacWest play, the Trailblazers are 5-5 all-time in conference opening matches, though DSU has won three of its last four league openers overall. However, Dixie State is 7-3 in its previous 10 PacWest home-opening matches, and the Trailblazers have played to a 6-4 mark in their first road league matches.

DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK: Dixie State made a little history in its comeback win over Central Washington as for the second time in Head Coach Robyn Felder's tenure the Trailblazers rallied from a 2-0 deficit to post a victory.
    DSU dropped the opening two sets by a combined score of 50-26 and was trailing 17-8 in set three. However the Trailblazers stormed back with a 16-7 run to knot the match at 24-24 and would go on to win the frame, 27-25. Dixie State then tied the match at 2-2 with a 26-24 triumph in set four and bolted out to a commanding 10-2 lead in the decisive fifth set to silence the home crowd and take both the 15-9 set win and the match.
    The come-from-behind victory came exactly five years to the day (9/8/12) since the last time the Trailblazers rallied from a two-set deficit to pull out a victory. DSU last accomplished the feat in a five-set triumph over Adelphi (21-25/12-25/27-25/25-18/15-13) in Anchorage, Alaska, which was also Coach Felder's second-career win at DSU.

TEAM NOTES: After going the first four matches of the season without one double-double, three Trailblazers combined to post five double-doubles over the weekend at CWU ... junior OH Hannah Doonan (San Dimas, Calif./San Dimas HS) led the way with three double-doubles, including a career-high 16 kills with 13 digs effort in the win over CWU ... Doonan also collected a career-best 24 digs and 10 kills in the Stanislaus win, and had 10 kills and 12 digs vs. CUO ... freshman setter Jordyn Nelson (Phoenix, Ariz./Greenway HS) notched her first collegiate double-double in the CWU win with career highs of 29 assists and 10 digs, as did junior setter Alexa Goulding (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) with 20 assists and 13 digs - both were also career highs ... Nelson has moved into eighth place on DSU's career assists list after just eight matches (153), while sophomore setter Kara Moore (Lehi, Utah/Lehi HS) (138) moved into a tie for ninth overall ... freshman OH Sydney Johnson (Spokane, Wash./Central Valley HS) posted a pair of double-digit kill outings, a 13-kill effort vs. Stanislaus State, and a career-best 14 kills in the CUO match ... junior RS Shannon Sorenson also notched a career-high with 10 kills vs. CUO.
    Junior libero Sid Brandon (Bountiful, Utah/Bountiful HS) vaulted to fourth place on DSU's career digs list (652) after she collected a combined 78 digs last weekend at the Showcase, including a season-high 27 digs in the win over CWU ... Brandon also recorded a career-best six assists vs. the Wildcats ... DSU averaged 7.5 total blocks at the Showcase, which included a season-high 12 blocks in the Stanislaus win ... sophomore MB Lauren Gammell (Spanish Fork, Utah/Spanish Fork HS) led the way with a career-high six total blocks in the SSU match, while junior MB Kayla Chapman (Fullerton, Calif./Troy HS) tied her career-best with six blocks in the CWU win.
    DSU hit a season-high .250 in the win vs. Stanislaus ... as a team DSU is hitting .168, while Trailblazer opponents are hitting at a .233 clip through the first eight matches of 2017 ... DSU is averaging 11.42 kills, 15.06 digs and 1.76 blocks per set overall.

UP NEXT: Dixie State returns to the road next weekend as the Trailblazers make their final trip to Hawai'i as a member of the PacWest Conference. DSU will play two matches on the islands, starting with a game at Hawai'i Pacific on Friday, Sept. 22, followed by a date at Chaminade on Saturday, Sept. 23.