(MATCH NOTES - PDF)

OPENING SERVE: Dixie State (20-7) heads to the "Mile High City" this weekend for the final two rounds of the 2019 RMAC Volleyball Tournament, hosted by top-seed No. 5 Regis. The No. 3-seeded Trailblazers will face No. 2 seed MSU Denver (22-6) in the first semifinal on Friday evening at 5 p.m., inside the Regis Fieldhouse in Denver.
    The DSU/MSUD match will be the first of two RMAC semifinal matches on Friday, with the host Rangers (25-3) playing No. 4 seed Colorado School of Mines (20-6) at 7 p.m. The two semifinal winners will then advance to the RMAC Championship match scheduled for Saturday evening at 5 p.m., with the winner earning the conference's automatic bid the 2019 NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Tournament.
    Live stats and streaming video information for Dixie State's RMAC tourney run can be found HERE.

DIXIE STATE AGAINST TOURNEY FIELD: Dixie State went a combined 1-2 against the other three RMAC semifinalists, with the lone win coming at home vs. Mines in a five-set thriller back on Oct. 12. DSU lost its previous two matches played in Denver this season, including a 3-1 setback at MSU Denver (10/18), and a straight-set loss at the No. 9 Regis this past Nov. 8.
    DSU is 0-3 all-time against MSU Denver overall. In fact, the Roadrunners are the only team in the RMAC that the Trailblazers have not solved since joining the conference in 2018. Meanwhile, Dixie State is 1-1 all-time against both Regis and Mines.

COACHING STAFF: 2018 RMAC Co-Head Coach of the Year Robyn Felder (Eastern Washington, 2002; 137-83 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.

LAST TIME OUT: Behind Megan Treanor's fourth triple-double of the season, Dixie State advanced on to the RMAC semifinals with 3-1 victory over CSU-Pueblo Tuesday night inside the DSU SAC.
    DSU jumped out to a two-set lead in the match thanks to a pair of 25-19 set wins. The Trailblazers broke open a tightly contested first set with a 10-4 run, then after spotting the ThunderWolves (14-14) a 12-7 lead in set two, Dixie State rattled off a 13-5 spurt to rally and held on to take a 2-0 match lead.
    Dixie State was poised for the sweep late in the third frame as the Blazers owned a 20-17 advantage after a To'a Faleao kill. However the ThunderWolves rallied with eight-straight points to break through with a 25-20 set victory.
    The Trailblazers quickly wrestled the momentum right back to open the decisive fourth stanza, scoring 18 of the first 22 points to take a commanding 18-4 lead. CSU-P would mount one final charge, outscoring DSU 10-1 to make a 23-14 set, but the Blazers' lead proved to be too much as Dixie State managed to close out the match with a 25-15 set triumph.
    Treanor hit .370 for the match and finished with 14 kills, 18 assists and 11 digs to post her second triple-double against the ThunderWolves this season. Meanwhile Faleao tallied 13 kills along with six digs and two total blocks (one solo). Sydney Johnson added eight kills and hit .357, and Lauren Gammell finished with seven kills with two blocks (one solo). In addition, Jordyn Nelson recorded a career-high tying four aces and posted her 11th double-double of the year with 20 assists and 10 digs.
    Dixie State collected 50 kills and hit .244 on the night, including a .405 clip with 16 kills in the opening set, and tallied 11 service aces in the match. DSU's defense limited CSU-Pueblo to a .142 hitting percentage and forced 23 attack errors.

DIXIE STATE AT THE RMAC TOURNEY: Dixie State is 2-1 all-time in RMAC tournament play, which includes last Tuesday's 3-1 victory over CSU-Pueblo inside the DSU SAC. The Blazers split two matches in their RMAC tournament debut last season, opening the tournament with a 3-1 quarterfinal home win vs. UCCS (11/6/18), before being eliminated by Colorado Mesa in four sets in the semifinals (11/9/18) in Golden, Colo.

NATIONAL/REGIONAL RANKINGS: Dixie State remained at No. 9 in the third official NCAA Division II women's volleyball South Central regional rankings, which were released on Wednesday. DSU is one of four RMAC teams in the rankings overall (Regis #1, Mines #3, MSUD #8).

JUST WIN BABY: Dixie State picked up its 20th win of the season in Tuesday night's triumph over CSU-P, which marked the third time in the program's NCAA era that the Blazers have reached the 20-win plateau.
    Eleven of DSU's 20 wins came at home (11-3), including a perfect 9-0 run in RMAC conference matches, while the Blazers are 3-0 in neutral-site games, and 6-4 on the road.
    Last season, DSU tied its NCAA-era program record for victories with 22 (22-6), matching the 22-win campaign in 2014, which included 20 regular season wins and two NCAA West Regional victories to advance to the regional final (Sweet 16).

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 regular season 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.

TRAILBLAZERS COLLECT SIX RMAC POSTSEASON AWARDS: Senior middle blocker Lauren Gammell repeated as Defensive Player of the Year to highlight Dixie State's representation on the 2019 RMAC Women's Volleyball all-conference awards announcement on Tuesday.
    Gammell, along with fellow senior MB/outside hitter To'a Faleao and junior OH/setter Megan Treanor each garnered First Team all-RMAC honors, while junior setter Jordyn Nelson and freshman libero Mykenna Nelson both earned honorable mention all-conference recognition.
    Gammell, who also collected the RMAC's top defensive award and first team all-conference honors on her way to All-America accolades last season, enters this weekend's RMAC Tournament games ranked sixth in the country at the NCAA Division II level in blocks per set (1.34) and is t-13th-nationally in total blocks (133).
    The conference's leading blocker tallied five or more total blocks in 13 of 27 starts this season with three double-digit outings, highlighted by DSU single-match records for total blocks (13) and block assists (12) in a four-set win vs. Colorado Mesa (10/26), which helped her win the second of her two RMAC DPOW awards. She also had 11 total blocks in a win at Fort Lewis (10/5) and 10 blocks in a sweep of Pittsburg State (10/13).
    On the offensive side, Gammell finished t-ninth in the RMAC in hitting percentage (.306) and was third on the team in kills with 191. She reached double figures in kills six times, four of those occasions came in RMAC play, including a season-high 15 kills at Western Colorado (10/27) and 12 kills vs. both Colorado School of Mines (10/12) and Chadron State (10/19).  
    Faleao, who was a second team all-RMAC pick last year, is ranked third in the nation in aces per set (0.60) and is first in the conference (t-15th nationally) in total aces with a DSU single-season record (51). She also wound up the regular season fourth in the conference points/set (4.13), fifth in kills/set (3.16) and seventh in total kills with a team-high 269.
    Faleao reached double figures in kills in 14 of her 23 starts, including 10 of 18 RMAC matches, highlighted by a career-high 21 kills (.306 H%) in a four-set win vs. CSU-Pueblo (11/2). The senior also had 18 kills and hit .485 in a sweep of SD Mines (9/21), and broke a school single-match record with 7 aces in a four-set win over Western Colorado (10/25). Defensively, Faleao collected four or more total blocks five times, including a season-high 5.0 blocks in wins vs. CMU (10/26) and vs. CSU-P (11/2).
    Treanor, who was a first team all-RMAC selection as part of an All-American season in 2018, led the RMAC with regular season three triple-doubles (first three in DSU's NCAA era), including two in RMAC play, to go with her fourth triple-double last Tuesday night. The junior also is also ranked top-10 in the league in kills (8th), kills/set (8th), aces (8th) and aces/set (t-6th).
    Treanor is second on the team in double-doubles (10), kills (251), assists (353), aces (29) and total blocks (70). She reached double figures in kills in 13 of 24 starts, including eight RMAC matches, highlighted by a season-high 17 kills with 17 assists and 13 digs in a five-set win over Mines (10/12), which helped her win RMAC Offensive Player of the Week recognition.
    The junior also tallied 10 or more assists in 21 of 24 starts and reached double figures in digs on six occasions. In addition, Treanor collected at least one block in 22 of 24 matches, including a season-high seven total blocks (2 solo) in a three-set sweep of Pittsburg State (9/13).
    A 2018 RMAC honorable mention pick last season, Jordyn Nelson tallied 25 or more assists nine times, highlighted by a career-high 50 assists at Western Colorado (10/25). The junior also leads the team with 11 double-doubles (assists/digs), eight of those coming in RMAC play. Meanwhile little sister Mykenna Nelson reached double figures in digs in 25 of 27 starts with eight 20-plus dig outings. She led the team in digs in 23 of 26 matches, highlighted by a 27-dig performance in a four-set win vs. UCCS (10/11), and finished third on the team in aces (25) and assists (104).

TEAM NOTES: Junior OH Sydney Johnson is averaging 6.4 kills against RMAC opponents this year, 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 and two blocks (1 solo) in the CSU-P quarterfinal win on Tuesday night.
    As a team DSU is hitting .216, while the Trailblazer defense is third in the RMAC with a .144 OH% (41st-nationally) through 27 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 seventh in NCAA Division II in blocks per set 2.53 bps average ... Dixie State is also second the RMAC and 29th nationally in total blocks (250.5).
    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 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). The 2019 NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Tournament Selection Show will be broadcast live on NCAA.com this Monday, November 25, at 5:30 p.m. (MT).