(MATCH NOTES - PDF)

OPENING SERVE: Dixie State (10-5/5-2 RMAC) continues its brief three-match homestand this weekend inside the DSU SAC with a pair of crucial RMAC matches. The Trailblazers play host to UCCS (5-8/3-2 RMAC) on Friday night at 6 p.m., followed by a showdown against preseason conference favorite Colorado School of Mines (11-2/4-1 RMAC) Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. Live stats and streaming video links for both matches can be found HERE.

DIXIE STATE VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS: Dixie State is 4-1 all-time vs. UCCS, which includes three four-set victories last season. DSU won two of those three matches at home, the first came in a non-conference tilt (8/31), while the Blazers eliminated the Mountain Lions from the RMAC tournament with a 3-1 quarterfinal round victory (11/6). The two home wins also book-
ended a 3-1 RMAC victory in Colorado Springs (9/29).
    Saturday's showdown vs. Colorado School of Mines will be just the second-ever meeting between the Trailblazers and Orediggers on the court. The two teams played for the first time last season in Golden, where DSU dropped a grueling five-set decision, which included a rare a 62-point set that was won by the Blazers, 32-30.

COACHING STAFF: 2018 RMAC Co-Head Coach of the Year Robyn Felder (Eastern Washington, 2002; 127-81 overall record) is in her eighth season at the helm of the Dixie State women's volleyball program. Last season, Felder led the Trailblazers to a NCAA era school-record tying 22 wins (22-6) and to a share of the RMAC regular season title (16-2) in the program's debut season in the league.
    A two-time Pacific West Conference Coach of the Year (2013/2015) honoree, Felder led the Trailblazers to their first-ever Pacific West Conference title and the program's third-straight NCAA West Regional appearance in 2015. The season before that, she led DSU to its most successful season in the program's Division II era as the Trailblazers played to a 22-9 overall record, which marked the first time Dixie State had reached the 20-win plateau in the program's NCAA-era. That season also saw her squad reach the 2014 NCAA West Regional final (Sweet 16).
    Felder is joined on the DSU sideline by third-year assistant coaches David Richards (BYU, 1983) and former DSU standout Makenzi Murphey (Dixie State, 2018). In addition, Whitnee Tupe (fifth season, Dixie State, 2007) returns to Felder's staff after a three-year stint as an assistant at Snow College, and Camilla Hafoka (Oregon State, 2010) is in her first season on the Trailblazers' staff.

TRAILBLAZERS PICKED THIRD IN THE RMAC IN 2019: Dixie State was voted to finish third by the RMAC coaches in the annual preseason poll released by the league on August 14.
    Fellow RMAC co-champion Colorado School of Mines topped the 16-team poll as the Orediggers received nine first place votes and 214 total points, while Colorado Mesa picked up four first place nods and 209 points to claim the second spot. The Trailblazers collected the final three first place votes and 204 points to finish third in the voting, followed by Regis (184 pts) in fourth and 2018 RMAC tourney champion MSU Denver (173 pts) in fifth.

LAST SEASON IN THE RMAC: After joining the RMAC in 2018, the 2019 season will mark the second and final season the Trailblazers will be a competing member of the conference. In 2020, Dixie State will begin its transition to NCAA Division I status and will become a new member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

WEEK IN REVIEW: Heading into this weekend's matches, Dixie State won two of its last three outings, which included a road split at Adams State (L, 1-3; 10/4) and at Fort Lewis (W, 3-1; 10/5) last weekend. DSU then came home and posted its third-straight RMAC home sweep as the Blazers dispatched in-state rival Westminster College in three sets this past Tuesday night.

GAMMELL NAMED RMAC DPOW: Senior RS/MB Lauren Gammell was named RMAC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday for her efforts in the Trailblazers' road split last weekend.
    Gammell enjoyed arguably her best overall defensive performances of the season on the road trip as she averaged 8.0 total blocks (2.0 bps) and 6.5 kills (1.625 kps) in the two matches. She opened the weekend a team-high five block assists to go with six kills in DSU's four-set loss at Adams State this past Friday night.
    The senior then went off for a DSU NCAA-era single match record tying 11 total blocks, including three solo stops, to go with seven kills and a dig in DSU's four-set win at Fort Lewis last Saturday. Gammell's defensive effort at FLC marked the fourth-time in her storied career that she had tallied 11 total blocks in a single match overall.
    Gammell currently leads the RMAC and is tied for 12th-nationally in NCAA Division II in blocks per set (1.30 bps), and she ranks third in the conference (18th in NCAA D-II) in total blocks (57). Gammell, who is DSU's career leader in total blocks (357) and block assists (324), became the first player in program history to reach the 300-career block plateau, doing so in the UT-Permian Basin win (9/12), and needs 43 more blocks for 400 for her storied career.

TEAM NOTES: After missing three of the previous four matches due to injury, junior RS/S Megan Treanor returned to action in the Westminster match and tallied nine kills with two assists, two digs and a block in two sets vs. the Griffins ... Treanor made program history in DSU's win over SW Oklahoma State (9/13 when she became the first Trailblazer in the program's NCAA era to post a triple-double, going for 14 kills, 18 assists and 11 digs in the four-set victory.
    The junior then followed that up with two more near-misses as she tallied 10 kills, 17 assists and a career-high nine total blocks (2 solo) in just three sets in the sweep of Pittsburg State (9/13), then followed that up with nine kills, 15 assists, and 14 digs in a four-set triumph over Lubbock Christian (9/14) ... Treanor has recorded 18 double-doubles in 38 career matches at DSU.
    Senior MB/OH To'a Faleao has been solid since the start of RMAC play as she has averaged nearly 12 kills (.232 H%) with 9.7 digs, 1.7 aces and 2.4 blocks through seven league matches ... the senior has reached double figures in kills in four of those seven matches, highlighted by career-high 18 kills in the home win over SD Mines (9/21), and collected 12 more vs. Westminster Tuesday night.  
    Junior setter Jordyn Nelson (1,493) enters the weekend needing just seven more assists to become the fourth player in program history to reach the 1,500 assist plateau ... Nelson tallied a career-high 50 assists in the WCU win (9/27), and was credited with a career-best five kills in the FLC win last Saturday ... the junior also recorded three aces over the weekend to move past former DSU standout Kailey Frei (2013-16) into solo 10th-place in career service aces (56), and she vaulted into 10th-place on DSU's career digs list (532) in the Westminster win on Tuesday.   
    Freshman libero Mykenna Nelson has led the Trailblazer defense in digs in 14 of 15 matches this season, including a career-high 24 digs at WCU (9/27) ... she also posted career highs of eight assists and three aces in the Westminster win ... sophomore Miranda Ekblad put up some career numbers of her own over her last three outings as she threw down a career-best eight kills vs. Westminster, posted career highs in aces (4) and digs (6) in the Fort Lewis win, and collected a career-high five assists at Adams State.  
    Junior OH Sai Collins has averaged 5.2 blocks (26 total blocks, 5 solo) over her last five matches, highlighted by a career-high eight total blocks (3 solo) with 14 kills in the win at WCU (9/27), and a six-block, nine-kill effort at Fort Lewis last Saturday ...  junior OH Sydney Johnson led DSU with career-highs of 18 kills and four total blocks at Adams State ... freshman OH Chayse Daugherty came off the bench and threw down a match and career-high 14 kills in the Fort Lewis win, while fellow freshman Siara Roberts tallied a career-best seven assists vs. Westminster.   
    As a team DSU is hitting .215, while Trailblazer opponents are hitting at a .149 clip (#2 in the RMAC) through 15 matches this season ... DSU is averaging 13.06 kills, 16.26 digs and 2.60 blocks per set (#1 in RMAC, T-3rd nationally) ... Dixie State hit a combined .321 vs. BHSU/SDM, highlighted by a season-high .347 vs. SD Mines (9/21) ... meanwhile, the DSU defense limited both opponents to a combined .045 H%, including a season-low -.050 clip in the BHSU sweep (9/20), which marked the second time this season DSU had held an opponent to a negative H% (-.010 vs. Pittsburg State, 9/13), this after not achieving that feat in nearly two seasons (-.023 vs. Holy Names; 10/13/17) ... DSU also limited Fort Lewis to a .000 H% and Westminster to a .099 H% in its last two wins.
    Dixie State collected a season-high 101 digs in the five-set win at Western Colorado (10/4), which marked just the 10th time in program history that the Blazers reached triple figures in digs in the program's NCAA era ... DSU's 101 digs were the most in a match since DSU tallied a school-record 130 digs in a five-set home win over Dominican nearly six years to the day (9/30/13) during the 2013 season.

UP NEXT: Dixie State heads back out on the road next weekend for two important RMAC matches as teams begin jockeying for position for the upcoming RMAC tourney. DSU will face current RMAC leader MSU Denver on Friday, Oct. 18, before traveling to Nebraska to play at Chadron State on Saturday, Oct. 19.