(MATCH NOTES - PDF)

OPENING SERVE: Dixie State (8-4/3-1 RMAC) returns to Colorado to wrap up its four-match RMAC road swing this weekend. The trip begins Friday night in Alamosa with a match at Adams State (3-10/0-4 RMAC) at 7 p.m., followed by a quick trip to Durango to take on Fort Lewis (4-9/0-4 RMAC) on Saturday at 5 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 2-3 all-time vs. Adams State, which includes a 3-0 Trailblazer home sweep last season at the DSU SAC (9/22/18). Prior to that match, the two sides had not played since 2011, when ASU posted a 3-1 neutral site win (9/10/11) in Grand Junction, the last of three-straight Grizzlies' victories vs. DSU. Dixie State did claim the first-ever meeting in 2006 (DSU's first year of NCAA competition), a 3-2 result in a match played in Salt Lake City.
    DSU is 2-4 in its brief series vs. Fort Lewis, and like the ASU series, DSU and FLC renewed acquaintances in RMAC play last season with the Blazers coming away with a 3-0 result at the DSU SAC (9/21/18). Before last season's match, the two sides had not met on the court since the 2011 season, when Dixie State claimed a 3-0 sweep of the Skyhawks in a neutral-site match also played in Grand Junction (9/9/11).

COACHING STAFF: 2018 RMAC Co-Head Coach of the Year Robyn Felder (Eastern Washington, 2002; 125-80 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: Dixie State opened the road portion of its final RMAC season with a split of two games in Colorado last weekend. DSU began the trip with a hard-fought 3-2 victory at Western Colorado this past Friday night in the team's first five-set match of the season. The Trailblazers then traveled down to Grand Junction and saw their seven-match winning streak stopped at Colorado Mesa in a straight-set loss.

NO FRIDAY THE 13TH JINX: Junior RS/S Megan Treanor made program history in DSU's win over SW Oklahoma State on Friday the 13th (of Sept.) 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 later that evening. Then the next day she racked up nine kills, 15 assists, and 14 digs in a four-set triumph over Lubbock Christian on her way to LCU All-Tournament honors. .
    Treanor, who now has 18 double-doubles in 37 career matches at DSU, recorded 10 kills and 13 assists in the CMU loss, this after not playing in the WCU win on the recent road trip.

MVP...MVP...MVP: Senior MB/OH To'a Faleao has been solid since the start of RMAC play as she has averaged nearly 12 kills (.265 H%) with 11.2 digs, 2.0 aces and 2.0 blocks through four matches. The senior threw down a career-high 18 kills in the home win over SD Mines (9/21) and collected 12 more in the win at WCU last Friday.
    Faleao made her 2019 debut a memorable one as she was named the LCU Tournament MVP after averaging 12.0 kills, 2.0 aces, 10.25 digs and 1.5 blocks in four tournament starts.

I'LL TAKE GAMMELL FOR THE BLOCK: Senior RS/MB Lauren Gammell has picked up right where she left off defensively as she is averaging 4.5 blocks through four conference matches and 4.1 kpm overall. Gammell tallied six total blocks in both home wins over BHSU (9/20) and SD Mines (9/21), and even though she was credited with only one solo block (30th of her career) in the five-set win at WCU, she came back with five block assists the next day vs. CMU.
    Gammell has also done the job on the offensive side as well, hitting at a .328 clip in RMAC and averaging 7.0 kills a match, highlighted by a season-high 15 kills (.393 H%) at Western last Friday.
    Gammell (337 career blocks/307 BAs) reached the 300-career block milestone in the UT-Permian Basin win (9/12) on her way to LCU All-Tournament Team honors.

CAN YOU DIG IT: Dixie State collected a season-high 101 digs in the five-set win at Western Colorado last Friday night, 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.

TEAM NOTES: Junior setter Jordyn Nelson (1,406) recorded her 1,400th career assist late in the final set at CMU (9/28) to become just the fourth player in the program's NCAA-era to dish out 1,300 or more dimes ... Nelson also tallied a career-high 50 assists in the WCU win (9/27) and moved into a tie for 10th-place (with former DSU standout Kailey Frei; 2013-16) in career service aces with her 53rd ace at CMU.  
    Freshman libero Mykenna Nelson has led the Trailblazer defense in digs in 11 of 12 matches this season, including a career-high 24 digs last Friday at WCU ... she also collected a team-high eight digs at CMU (9/28), which marked the first time in nearly two seasons that at least one Trailblazer had not reached double figures in digs (vs. Biola, 10/28/17).  
    Junior OH Sai Collins enjoyed a pair of breakout defensive performances in the Blazers' road split last weekend as she averaged 6.5 blocks (1.625 bps) and 3.5 digs (0.875 dps), along with 10.0 kills (2.5 kps) in the two matches ... Collins posted career highs of 14 kills (.314 H%), five digs and eight total blocks (3 solo), including a big solo stop on match point, in DSU's come-from-behind five set win at Western ... the junior followed that up with five more total blocks (1 solo) with two digs and six kills at CMU.   
    Junior MB Lizzy Clark also got into the block party at WCU as she picked up a career-high eight total blocks with four solo stops ... additionally, Clark tallied a career-best six digs and had 10 kills in the five-setter, then went for five kills and three block assists at CMU.
    As a team DSU is hitting .225, while Trailblazer opponents are hitting at a .159 clip (#2 in the RMAC) through 12 matches this season ... DSU is averaging 13.02 kills, 16.33 digs and 2.50 blocks per set (t-6th 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 .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).

UP NEXT: Dixie State returns to the DSU SAC for three-straight RMAC matches, beginning with a date against in-state rival Westminster College on Tuesday night, Oct. 8, at 6 p.m.