(MATCH NOTES - PDF)

OPENING SERVE: Dixie State (19-7/14-4 RMAC) begins its quest for an RMAC Tournament title this Tuesday night as the third-seeded Trailblazers host No. 6-seed Colorado State-Pueblo (14-13/11-7 RMAC) in a quarterfinal round match inside the DSU SAC. First serve is slated for 7 p.m.
    The DSU/CSU-P winner will advance on to the RMAC Tournament semifinals and finals, which will be played this weekend (site and times TBD). Live stats, video links and ticket information for Tuesday's match can be found HERE.

THE REST OF THE TOURNEY FIELD: RMAC regular season champion and tournament top-seed No. 8 Regis (24-3/17-1 RMAC) will host No. 8-seed UCCS (10-16/8-10 RMAC) in one of the three other conference tournament quarterfinal matches on Tuesday.
    The final two quarterfinal match-ups feature No. 2 seed MSU Denver (21-6/16-2 RMAC) hosting No. 7 seed Black Hills State (12-14/10-8 RMAC), and No. 4 seed Colorado School of Mines (20-6/13-5 RMAC) playing host to No. 5 Colorado Mesa (17-9/13-5 RMAC).

DIXIE STATE VS. TUESDAY'S OPPONENT: Dixie State owns 4-2 series edge vs. CSU-P and has won three-straight in the series overall, including a four-set triumph inside the DSU SAC on Senior Day this past Nov. 2.

DIXIE STATE AT THE RMAC TOURNEY: Dixie State split two matches in its RMAC tournament debut last season. The Trailblazers opened tournament play with a 3-1 quarterfinal home win over UCCS (11/6/18), before being eliminated by CMU in four sets in the semifinals (11/9/18) in Golden, Colo.

COACHING STAFF: 2018 RMAC Co-Head Coach of the Year Robyn Felder (Eastern Washington, 2002; 136-83 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.

WEEK IN REVIEW: Dixie State closed out the 2019 regular season with a 3-0 sweep at in-state rival Westminster College last Friday night in Salt Lake City. Senior To'a Faleao threw down a match-high 14 kills with nine digs, while junior Megan Treanor tallied 11 kills (.391 H%) with 17 assists, eight digs and four total blocks. DSU hit .303 in the match with 50 kills, and the Blazer defense limited the Griffins to a .137 H% and 29 kills.

NATIONAL/REGIONAL RANKINGS: Dixie State slipped down to No. 9 in the second official NCAA Division II women's volleyball South Central regional rankings, which were released this past Nov. 13. DSU is one of five RMAC teams in the rankings overall (Regis #1, Mines #3, MSUD #8, CMU #10).
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).
    In two seasons of RMAC play, the Trailblazers posted a 30-6 overall record (.833), which included an impressive 17-1 mark inside the DSU SAC. DSU also defeated 14 of the 15 other conference programs at least once over those two seasons, with MSU Denver being the lone school the Blazers could not solve.

419 AND COUNTING: Senior MB Lauren Gammell made more history in DSU's sweep of NMHU on Nov. 1, as she recorded her 400th-career total block in the second set, and that number now stands at 419, which is more than 130 total blocks clear of second place Morgan Hill, who had 287 blocks in her four-year career (2008-11).
    The senior earned her second RMAC Defensive Player of the Week award of the season on Oct. 28, after her record-breaking performance in DSU's Homecoming Weekend sweep. Gammell just missed a double-double to begin the homestand with match-highs of 11 kills (.625 H%) and eight block assists in DSU's four-set win over Western Colorado (10/25).
    Then in the showdown vs. CMU (10/26), Gammell broke two school single-match records for total blocks (13) and block assists (12) and had eight kills (.353 H%) in the 3-1 triumph. After opening the match with consecutive blocks (one solo), she was part of six total blocks in DSU's match-clinching 14-2 run in the deciding fourth set.
    Gammell, who was also named RMAC Defensive Player of the Week back on Oct. 7, bested her previous total blocks record of 11, which she tied earlier this season in a win at Fort Lewis (10/5). Her 13 total blocks also marked the third time in two seasons of RMAC play that she collected at least 11 blocks against CMU.
    Gammell finished the regular season as the RMAC leader in blocks per set (1.38) and total blocks (131), and the senior is currently ranked fifth and t-16th-nationally at the NCAA Division II level in those two categories, respectively.
    She has led or co-led the team in blocking in 24 of 26 matches this season, including a match-high seven block assists at Colorado Christian (11/9), and four total blocks at Westminster last Friday. Gammell also registered two solo blocks at Regis (11/8), her 37th and 38th (#3 all-time in DSU history) of her career.
    In addition, the senior now owns six program blocking records as she DSU's single season and career record holder for both block assists (148 - 2018 and 379, respectively) and in season total blocks (162 - 2018). 

MESSING AROUND AND GETTING TRIPLE-DOUBLES: Junior RS/S Megan Treanor posted her third (and the program's third) triple-double of the season and career in regular season home finale win over CSU-Pueblo (11/2), going for 13 kills, 25 assists and 12 digs. That performance came on the heels of her leading DSU with nine kills and a career-high four aces a night earlier in the NMHU win (11/1).
    Treanor was named RMAC Offensive Player of the Week (10/14) after the Blazers' home sweep UCCS (10/11) and Mines (10/12) after she averaged a triple-double in the two wins. She began the weekend with a match-high 13 kills, 17 assists, nine digs and five total blocks in the four-set win vs. UCCS, then recorded her second career triple-double with a co-team high 17 kills, 17 assists and a career-best 13 digs in the five-set win over Mines.
    Treanor posted DSU's first triple-double in the program's NCAA era earlier this year in a four-set win vs. Southwestern Oklahoma State (14K/18A/11D) back on Sept. 13. In addition, Treanor has recorded 22 double-doubles in 49 career matches at DSU, a co-team high 10 of which have come this season, including 11-kill/1-assist night at Westminster last Friday. The junior is currently second on the club in kills (237), kps (2.93) and assists (335).

ACE OF BASE: Senior MB/OH To'a Faleao became DSU's single-season leader in service aces with the first of two she recorded in the second set at Westminster last Friday night. Faleao now has 48 aces to her credit this year, which eclipsed the previous record of 46 set by former DSU player Anna Bullard back in the 2008 season. Among those 48 aces were a DSU single-match record seven vs. Western Colorado (10/25).
    Faleao also leads the RMAC and is ranked third-nationally in aces/set (0.59), while her 48 aces ranks her second in the conference and t-27th in the country, and she needs three more aces (79) to move into fourth place on DSU's career aces list.  
    Faleao made the most of her "Senior Night" as she threw down a career-high 21 kills and hit .306 overall in the four-set win over CSU-P (11/2). Faleao also collected five block assists, three aces and recorded her seventh double-double of the year with 15 digs.
    The senior has averaged 11.5 kills with 9.9 digs, 2.3 aces and 2.6 blocks in RMAC play this season, and has tallied at least seven kills in 17 of 18 conference matches, highlighted by a then career-best 18 kills in the home win over SD Mines (9/21), and a co-team high 17 kills in the Mines win (10/12).
    Faleao leads the team in kills (256) and kps (3.16), which ranks her fifth in the RMAC and seventh currently on DSU's single-season list.

READY, SET, GO: Junior setter Jordyn Nelson became the fourth player in program history to reach the 1,700-assist plateau in the loss at Regis (11/8). Nelson now has 1,736 career dimes and needs 56 more to pass former DSU setter Anna Bullard (1,791, 2007-08) for third place on DSU's all-time list.  
    Nelson, who tallied a career-high 50 assists in DSU's win at WCU (9/27) last month, also collected her co-team high 10th double-double of the season with 26 assists and 11 digs in the CSU-P win (11/2), and she has posted double-doubles (assists/digs) in seven of her last 14 outings overall. While she has steadily climbed up the assist list, the junior also moved into fifth place on DSU's career digs list (620).

TEAM NOTES: Freshman libero Mykenna Nelson has led the Trailblazer defense in digs in 23 of 26 matches this season, including a career-high 27 digs vs. UCCS (10/11), and a match-high 18 digs at Westminster last Friday ... the freshman is currently seventh in the RMAC in digs/set at 4.61 dps, and she moved into ninth place on DSU's single-season digs list (438) at Westminster last Friday ... junior OH Sydney Johnson is averaging 6.3 kills during RMAC play, including a career-high 18 kills at Adams State (10/4), and 11 more kills vs. CMU (10/26) ... junior OH Sai Collins tallied six kills and three digs at Westminster last Friday ... sophomore MB Miranda Ekblad also had a solid night vs. the Griffins as she hit .417 with six kills to go with three block assists and two digs.
    As a team DSU is hitting .215, while the Trailblazer defense is third in the RMAC with a .144 OH% (t-40th-nationally) through 26 matches this season, including holding WCU (10/25) to an opponent-season low -.065 attack percentage (10/25) ... DSU is averaging 12.79 kills and 15.87 digs a set, and leads the RMAC and is ranked fifth in NCAA Division II in blocks per set 2.57 bps average ... Dixie State is also second the RMAC and t-32nd nationally in total blocks (244.5).
    Dixie State hit a season-high .410 in the NMHU win (11/1), which marked the first time since September of 2018 that the Blazers hit over .400 in a match (.430 vs. Adams State - 9/22/18) ... DSU also hit .500 in a set for just the second time this season in the opening frame vs. NMHU (.500 -  14K/2E/24A) ... For just the second time in the program's NCAA-era, a Dixie State opponent failed to record a team block in a match as the Blazers did not have an attack blocked by the Cowgirls' defense ... the only other occurrence came during the 2011 season when DSU was not blocked, coincidentally in a 3-0 win, vs. Colorado Mesa in a non-conference match (9/8/11).
    DSU limited WCU to only 20 kills (10/25), which tied an opponent season-low set last month vs. Black Hills State (9/20) ... DSU's defense has held three total opponents to a negative hitting percentage this season (BHSU -.050; Pittsburg State  -.010, 9/13), this after not achieving that feat in nearly two seasons (-.023 vs. Holy Names; 10/13/17).

UP NEXT: The 2019 RMAC Women's Volleyball Tournament continues with the two semifinal matches on Friday, Nov. 22, followed by the championship match on Saturday, Nov. 23, on the home court of the highest remaining seed. The winner of the RMAC Tournament championship will earn the conference's automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA South Central Regionals, which will be held Dec. 6-8 (site and times TBA).