Sophomore Lauren Gammell (Spanish Fork, Utah/Spanish Fork HS) threw down a career-high 21 kills to help lead Dixie State to a come-from-behind 3-2 victory at Hawai'i Pacific late Friday night.

The Trailblazers (3-7/1-1 PacWest) dropped the first set by a 25-21 count and found themselves in a deep 12-1 hole to begin set two. However DSU clawed its way back into the set with 10-straight points to cut the deficit to 12-11 after a Jaydra Thurber (Temecula, Calif./Chaparral HS) kill. HPU (4-7/2-1 PacWest) would extend to a 20-17 advantage, but Dixie State answered with a 7-3 run to reach set point at 24-23 thanks in part to three Gammell kills, along with point-scoring attacks from Thurber and Hannah Doonan (San Dimas, Calif./San Dimas HS).

HPU rallied to wrestle away set point at 25-24, but DSU closed the stanza with three-straight points, culminating with an Alexa Goulding (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) kill to take the frame (27-25) and square the match at a set apiece. Hawai'i Pacific quelled the DSU momentum as the Sharks never trailed in set three on their way to a 25-22 set win, but again Dixie State would rally to force a deciding fifth frame with a 25-23 result in the fourth stanza.

Dixie State trailed just twice early in the decisive fifth set, but the Trailblazers would use a 6-1 spurt to break a 5-5 tie and would close out the match with a 15-8 set win.

Gammell hit .487 for the match and finished with five total blocks (one solo), while Doonan posted her team-leading fourth double-double of the season with a career-high tying 16 kills and 16 digs. Freshman setter Jordyn Nelson (Phoenix, Ariz./Greenway HS) also notched her second double-double of the year with 27 assists and 13 digs, and junior libero Sid Brandon (Bountiful, Utah/Bountiful HS) collected a game-high 28 digs. DSU finished with 63 kills and hit .238, while the Trailblazers held the Sharks to a .186 hitting percentage.

Dixie State will close its quick two-match trip to the Islands with a date at Chaminade this Saturday night at 7 p.m. (MT).