Dixie State made a little bit of history on Friday as the Trailblazers came away with a split of two matches on day two of the West Region Volleyball Showcase at Central Washington's Nicholson Pavilion. DSU rallied from a two-set deficit to defeat the host Wildcats, 3-2, in the first match of the day. However the Trailblazers could not keep the momentum going as they bowed to UC San Diego in straight sets in the nightcap.

In the opener against CWU, the Wildcats (4-3) bolted out to a 2-0 match lead after breezing through the opening two sets by scores of 25-14 and 25-12. Central Washington looked as if it had the match in hand in set three as the Wildcats led 17-8 on serve, which led to a Dixie State timeout.

That timeout served as an immediate wake up all for the Trailblazers as they rattled off a 16-7 run, which included fighting off four-straight match-points, to pull even at 24-24 after a Hannah Doonan (San Dimas, Calif./San Dimas HS) kill. Doonan had three kills in the rally, while Kaycee Adams (Syracuse, Utah/Syracuse HS) and Lauren Gammell (Spanish Fork, Utah/Spanish Fork HS) chipped in two kills apiece in the run.

DSU took the lead on the next point on a Wildcat attack error, but CWU managed to pull even at 25-25 on the next serve. The Trailblazers would then go on to score the final two points of the frame on a Doonan kill and a CWU attack error to claim a 27-25 set win.

Dixie State kept the momentum going in set four as the Trailblazers raced to a 21-14 lead and held a 24-19 advantage on serve for set point. However this time it would be the Wildcats who would mount a late charge as they staved off five set points to square the frame at 24-24. Following a DSU timeout, Kayla Chapman (Fullerton, Calif./Troy HS) gave the Trailblazers the lead back with a kill, and she and Doonan would clinch the set (26-24) on the next point as the duo blocked a CWU attack chance to force a deciding fifth set.

The Trailblazers left little doubt in set five as DSU raced out to a commanding 10-2 and never looked back. Six different Trailblazers collected kills in the final stanza, with Gammell throwing down the game-winner on match point to close out the game at 15-9.

Doonan posted her second-straight double-double with a career-high 16 kills and 13 digs to go with four service aces, while Brette Barney (Prescott, Ariz./Prescott HS) added nine kills and three total blocks. Adams chipped in eight kills, and Chapman finished with seven kills and a team-high six total blocks.

The come-from-behind victory came exactly five years to the day (9/8/12) since the last time that the Trailblazers rallied from a two-set deficit to pull out a victory. The last time DSU accomplished the feat was in a five-set triumph over Adelphi (21-25/12-25/27-25/25-18/15-13) in Anchorage, Alaska, which was also Head Coach Robyn Felder's second-career win at DSU.

Against UCSD, it was almost a carbon copy of the CWU match as the Trailblazers dropped the opening two sets to the Tritons, 25-14 and 25-19. UCSD took early control of set three as the Tritons scored the first six points of the stanza and pushed that lead to as many as seven at 16-9.

As was the case earlier in the day, Dixie State mounted a furious rally, outscoring UCSD 8-1 to pull even at 17-17, and would eventually wrestle the lead away at 21-20 after consecutive Doonan kills. The Tritons won the next point to tie the set at 21-21, but Gammell gave DSU the lead right back on the ensuing point. However that would be the final time the Trailblazers would lead in the match at UCSD scored four of the final five points to close out the match.

Doonan paced DSU with nine kills, while Gammell finished with seven kills. DSU hit just .094 in the three sets and finished with 34 kills overall.

Dixie State will conclude play at the West Region Showcase Saturday with a match-up vs. Concordia (OR) at 5:30 p.m. (PT).