(COMPLETE TOURNAMENT RESULTS)

Dixie State dropped the final game of the DSU-hosted Desert Garden Inn by Wyndham Classic Saturday night in a hard-fought 3-1 battle against Arkansas-Fort Smith  in the Burns Arena. Despite the loss, the Trailblazers closed the non-conference portion of their 2018 schedule with a 5-2 record, including two victories over AVCA top-25 teams.

DSU drew first blood against the Lions (6-3) with a 25-19 set one victory, thanks in part of a 10-4 run to close a tightly-contested opening stanza. UAFS led wire-to-wire in set two to square the match at 1-1, 25-19, then managed to slip past the Blazers in the third frame (25-22) to take a 2-1 match lead. The Lions would go on to close the match in four with a 25-21 victory.

Sophomore Megan Treanor (Salem, Utah/Salem Hills HS) just missed a triple-double as she finished with a team-high 11 kills, 12 assists and nine digs, while junior To'a Faleao-Baich (Lehi, Utah/Lehi HS) collected 10 kills and seven digs. Sophomore Jordyn Nelson (Phoenix, Ariz./Greenway HS) chipped in 24 assists and five digs, and senior libero Sid Brandon (Bountiful, Utah/Bountiful HS) tallied a game-high 16 digs.

Five matches were played on the final day of the Classic, which started with a No. 18 Tarleton State 3-0 sweep of RMAC member Adams State, which was followed by a 3-1 Western New Mexico victory over RMAC member Colorado-Colorado Springs. TSU also outlasted UAFS in the third match of the day, 3-2, and Adams State claimed a five-set triumph over WNMU.

Dixie State will make its RMAC debut next weekend as the Trailblazers head to South Dakota for a pair of matches at South Dakota Mines on Friday, Sept. 8, and at Black Hills State on Saturday, Sept. 9.