(MATCH NOTES - PDF)

OPENING SERVE: Dixie State (11-2/6-0 RMAC) will put its season-long six-match winning streak and share of first place in the RMAC standings on the line this weekend as the Trailblazers head to Colorado for two crucial league matches. DSU opens the trip this Friday night in Golden with a first-place showdown at No. 23 Colorado School of Mines (13-2/7-0 RMAC) at 6 p.m.
    The Blazers will then head over to Colorado Springs for a Saturday date at Colorado-Colorado Springs (6-9/4-3 RMAC) beginning at 5 p.m. Live stats and video links for both matches this weekend can be found HERE.

DIXIE STATE VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS: Friday night's first-place battle at Colorado School of Mines will be the first-ever meeting between the Trailblazers and Orediggers on the volleyball court.
    Dixie State and UCCS have split the only two previous meetings between the two sides, both of which were played on neutral courts. The Mountain Lions claimed a 3-1 victory in the first meeting early in the 2008 season (8/30/08 in Pueblo, Colo.), while the Blazers posted a 3-2 triumph one year later (9/5/09 in Durango, Colo.).

COACHING STAFF: Robyn Felder (Eastern Washington, 2002; 106-72 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).

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 pushed its RMAC winning streak to six-straight as the Trailblazers swept through both Fort Lewis and Adams State last weekend to close out a perfect 4-0 homestand.

IT'S NOT HOW YOU START BUT....: Dixie State's 11-2 start this season is the best start through 13 matches in the program's NCAA era. In 2009, DSU started its season 10-3 on its way to an 18-7 overall record.

TEAM NOTES: Sophomore right side hitter Megan Treanor (Salem, Utah/Salem Hills HS) had quite the weekend vs. both Fort Lewis and Adams State as she averaged 13.0 kills, 8.0 assists, 3.0 digs and 3.0 blocks, and combined to hit .469 in the two wins ... Treanor threw down a match-high 12 kills with six assists and four blocks vs. FLC, then posted her team-high sixth double-double with 14 kills and 10 assists in the ASU win.
    Treanor hit .667 in the ASU win with no hitting errors in 21 attacks to record the second-highest single-match hitting percentage in DSU's NCAA era ... Treanor, who was named RMAC Offensive Player of the Week (9/17), leads the team in kills (155) and has enough hitting attempts to now qualify to be ranked on DSU's career hitting percentage list (.262, t-6th).
    As a team, DSU hit .430 against Adams State, which wound up as the second-highest single-match percentage in the program's four-year era, and was the first time Dixie State had hit .400 or better in a match in nearly three full seasons (.402 at Holy Names; 10/23/15) ... the DSU match record for hitting percentage is .440 set vs. Molloy College during the 2015 season (9/5/15).
    Senior MB Malary Marshall (Hurricane, Utah/Hurricane HS) also had a solid hitting weekend as she combined to hit .444 in the two wins with five kills vs. FLC and six more vs. ASU ... Marshall's weekend helped pad her DSU record .308 career hitting percentage, and she is tied for 10th-place on DSU's career solo block list (14).
    Junior MB Lauren Gammell (Spanish Fork, Utah/Spanish Fork HS) collected nine more block assists in the two wins last weekend, including a match-high seven block assists vs. FLC ... the RMAC's leading blocker and two-time RMAC Defensive POW honoree, had quite the homestand as she collected nine block assists and 10 kills (hit .500) in DSU's four-set win vs. Western State (9/14), then tied DSU single match records for total blocks (11 - 1 solo) and block assists (10) with nine more kills (hit .562 with 0 errors) in the four-set win victory over CMU (9/15).
    Gammell currently leads all of NCAA D-II in blocks per set list at 1.65 bps, and she is tied for fifth-nationally in total blocks with 79 ... Gammell (205; #5 all-time) also became the sixth player in program history to reach the 200-block plateau, doing so vs. FLC ... in addition, the junior MB is currently fifth all-time in block assists (188) and sixth in solo blocks (17).
    Sophomore setter Jordyn Nelson (Phoenix, Ariz./Greenway HS) recorded a career-high four kills vs. CMU (9/15) and she passed the 800-assist plateau (812) in the Adams State win after she finished with 22 dimes.  
    Senior L Sid Brandon (Bountiful, Utah/Bountiful HS) (1,196 digs) moved into third place on DSU's career digs list in the Western State (9/14) win and stands seven digs shy of 1,200 career digs heading into this weekend's road trip ... junior MB/OH To'a Faleao-Baich (Lehi, Utah/Lehi HS) threw down 12 kills vs. WSCU (9/14; one off her career high) and collected a career-best six blocks (two solo) vs. Fort Lewis (9/21).
     Senior RS Shannon Sorensen (Smithfield, Utah/Sky View HS) has averaged 5.1 kills over her last six matches, including seven kills with a career-high tying six blocks (one solo) at BHSU (9/8) and seven more kills in the CMU win ... Sorensen also tallied eight total blocks (three solo) last weekend, including five blocks - one solo - in the Fort Lewis win ... senior OH Hannah Doonan (San Dimas, Calif./San Dimas HS) just missed her second double-double of the year with nine kills and nine digs vs. FLC ... freshman Miranda Marshall (Fairfield, Calif./Vanden HS) collected her first three collegiate block assists vs. Adams State, while fellow freshman Hailee Oviatt-Devallier recorded her first collegiate kill and block vs. ASU.
    Through 13 matches, DSU is hitting .217 as a team, while Trailblazer opponents are hitting at a .123 clip ... DSU is averaging 12.98 kills and 15.85 digs per set ... Dixie State is currently leads the nation at the NCAA D-II level in blocks/set at 3.17 and is ninth in the NCAA D-II ranks in total blocks (152.0) ... DSU had 15.0 total blocks vs. Fort Lewis and 9.0 team blocks vs. Adams State.

UP NEXT: Dixie State will travel north to Salt Lake City for rare Tuesday evening RMAC match at in-state rival Westminster College at 6 p.m. DSU returns to the friendly confines of the DSU SAC for two RMAC contests, beginning with a match vs. Chadron State on Friday, Oct. 5, at 6 p.m. The Trailblazers will then quickly turn around to square off against MSU Denver on Saturday, Oct. 6, at 4 p.m.