(MATCH NOTES - PDF)

OPENING SERVE: Dixie State (7-2/2-0 RMAC) opens a four-match RMAC homestand this weekend as the Trailblazers welcome in Western State Colorado (1-10/0-3 RMAC) and Colorado Mesa (8-3/3-0 RMAC) to the DSU SAC. Friday's match vs. WSCU will begin at 6 p.m., while Saturday's tilt against CMU will start at 3 p.m.
    Live stats and video links for both matches this weekend can be found HERE.

DIXIE STATE VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS: Dixie State holds a 3-1 series edge over Western State and has won three-straight in the series overall, though this will be the first time the two sides will have squared off at the DSU SAC. Dixie State and WSCU split the first two meetings on consecutive days in Gunnison back in the 2010 season (9/10-11/10), and the Trailblazers swept the next two matches vs. the Mountaineers on neutral courts in 2011 (9/10/11) and 2013 (9/14/13).
    Dixie State is 2-1 all-time vs. CMU, with the Blazers claiming the first two meetings at home in 2009 (3-1; 9/2/09) and in Grand Junction (3-0; 9/8/11). However the Mavericks won that last match between the two schools in 2013 (1-3; 9/14/13) on a neutral court.

COACHING STAFF: Robyn Felder (Eastern Washington, 2002; 102-72 overall record) is in her seventh season at the helm of the DSU women's volleyball program as it heads into its first year of RMAC play. The two-time Pacific West Conference Coach of the Year (2013/2015) led the Trailblazers to a 13-15 overall record last season which included an 11-9 mark (t-6th) in their final season of PacWest competition.
    In 2015, Felder led the Trailblazers to their first-ever Pacific West Conference title and the program's third-straight NCAA West Regional appearance. 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 only time Dixie State has reached 20-win plateau in the program's NCAA-era, and DSU also reached the 2014 NCAA West Regional final (Sweet 16).
    Felder is joined on the DSU sideline by second-year assistant coaches David Richards (BYU, 1983) and former DSU standout Makenzi Bird-Murphey (Dixie State, 2018).

FELDER REACHES THE CENTURY MARK: Head Coach Robyn Felder collected her 100th-victory as Dixie State head coach in DSU's 3-1 non-conference win over Colorado-Colorado Springs (8/30) in the final game of night two of the DSU-hosted Desert Garden Inn by Wyndham Classic.
    Coach Felder has led DSU to double-digit win totals in each of the previous five season, and has won 17 or more matches in four of those five year, including an NCAA-era school record 22 wins in 2014.

HI, MY NAME IS....: After 11 years as a member of the Pacific West Conference, Dixie State embarks on its first season as full members of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in 2018.
    The Trailblazers won one PacWest volleyball title (2015) over their conference membership and posted a 117-75 overall record (.609) in 192 league games. DSU won 10 or more PacWest matches in seven of those 11 campaigns, including a program-best 17 matches (17-3) in 2014.

TRAILBLAZERS PICKED SEVENTH IN THE RMAC IN 2018: Dixie State was voted to finish seventh by the RMAC coaches in the annual preseason poll released by the league on August 13.
    Defending RMAC co-champions No. 7 Regis and No. 20 Colorado School of Mines combined to collect all 16 first-place votes in the poll, with Regis garnering 15 first-place nods to top the poll with 225 points, while CSM earned the other first-place vote and finished with 208 points.
    MSU-Denver wound up third in the poll with 181 points, followed by Colorado Christian (181 pts) in fourth, Colorado Mesa (173 pts) in fifth, Colorado-Colorado Springs (152 pts) in sixth, DSU (128 pts) in seventh, and Adams State (123 pts) rounded out the top half of the poll in eighth.

WEEK IN REVIEW: Dixie State made its RMAC debut a successful one as the Trailblazers swept through their conference-opening road trip to South Dakota last weekend. DSU opened the trip with a 3-0 triumph at South Dakota Mines (25-12, 25-21, 25-15) last Friday before claiming a 3-0 sweep at Black Hills State (25-23, 26-24, 25-21) on Saturday.

TEAM NOTES: Junior MB Lauren Gammell (Spanish Fork, Utah/Spanish Fork HS) continued her solid defensive work on the road trip as she collected 12 more total blocks (two solo), including a game-high eight block assists in the SDM win ... Gammell was named RMAC Defensive Player of the Week (9/3) averaged she 6.5 blocks (1.7 bps) a game in four starts during the DSU Classic, including a career-high tying 10 total blocks (1 solo) in the Trailblazers' three-set sweep of Western New Mexico (8/31) ... Gammell (176) moved into seventh on DSU career blocks list and is three blocks shy of vaulting into sixth overall, while the junior ranked second in the RMAC and t-13th nationally in total blocks (50), and she leads the RMAC and is ranked FOURTH in the country in blocks per set (1.47 bps).
    Senior MB Malary Marshall (Hurricane, Utah/Hurricane HS) also got into the block party during the DSU Classic as she collected 18 total blocks in the four games with three solo stops, including two solo blocks in the WNMU (8/31) win ... Marshall had a match-high tying six blocks and a career-best six digs in the BHSU last Saturday ... Marshall is third in the RMAC and t-24th nationally in blocks/set (1.21), and is third in the conference and t-23rd in D-II in total blocks 34 ... Marshall also had five kills in each of DSU's two wins in South Dakota.
    Sophomore RS/S Megan Treanor (Salem, Utah/Salem Hills HS) tied a career-high with 19 kills to go with 17 assists in the Tarleton State win (8/30), and followed that up with a career-high 25 dimes and six kills in the UCCS win ... Treanor then almost "messed around and got a triple-double" with 11 kills, 12 assists and nine digs (with five blocks) in the UAFS loss (9/1) ... Treanor averaged 5.5 kills on the South Dakota trip, which included a seven-kill effort at BHSU last Saturday.
    Senior L Sid Brandon (Bountiful, Utah/Bountiful HS) (1,142 digs) collected her 1,100th-career dig in the UAFS match (9/1) and now needs four more digs to move into third place on DSU's career digs list ... junior MB/OH To'a Faleao-Baich (Lehi, Utah/Lehi HS) tallied career-highs of 13 kills (match high) and four total blocks (one solo) in the Black Hills State win last Saturday, and led DSU with eight kills with three more blocks (one solo) at SDM (9/7).
     Senior RS Shannon Sorensen (Smithfield, Utah/Sky View HS) averaged 6.5 kills on the trip last weekend, including seven kills with a career-high tying six blocks (one solo) at BHSU last Saturday ... senior OH Hannah Doonan (San Dimas, Calif./San Dimas HS) tallied 10 kills in the Tarleton State win (8/30) and led DSU with 13 kills in the UCCS victory (8/31) ... freshman L Abbey Smith (Prescott, Ariz./Prescott HS) collected a career-high tying 11 digs in the at SDM, while fellow freshman Miranda Marshall (Fairfield, Calif./Vanden HS) threw down her first two collegiate kills in her debut at SDM (9/7).
    Prior to DSU's come-from-behind win at NNU (8/24), the last time the Blazers rallied from a 0-2 deficit to win a match came at home last season vs. Fresno Pacific (10/26/17), while the last time the DSU achieved that feat on the road also came last year in a 3-2 win at Central Washington (9/8/17) ... Dixie State hit .538 in the decisive fifth set at NNU (7K/0E), which marked the first time the Trailblazers hit better than .500 in a set in nearly three full seasons ... During the 2015 campaign, DSU hit .533 in the first set of a 3-0 sweep at Holy Names (10/23/15) ... Through nine matches, DSU is hitting .187 as a team, while Trailblazer opponents are hitting at a .118 clip ... DSU's defense combined to hold SD Mines (.000) and BHSU (.076) to a paltry 0.039 hitting percentage last week ... DSU is averaging 12.56 kills and 17.18 digs per set ... Dixie State is currently ranked third-nationally in blocks/set at 2.93 and ninth in the NCAA D-II ranks in total blocks (102.5).

UP NEXT: Dixie State continues its four-match RMAC homestand next weekend vs. Fort Lewis on Friday, Sept. 21, followed by a showdown against Adams State on Saturday, Sept. 22.