(MATCH NOTES - PDF)

OPENING SERVE: Dixie State (5-3/0-0 RMAC) opens its final season of RMAC play as the Trailblazers welcome in Black Hills State (2-6/0-0 RMAC) and South Dakota Mines (3-5/0-0 RMAC) to the DSU SAC this Friday and Saturday nights, respectively. Both matches will start each night at 6 p.m. Live stats and video for both matches can be found HERE.

DIXIE STATE VS. THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS: Dixie State is 2-0 all-time vs. BHSU, with both wins coming in three-set sweeps. The two sides first met in a non-conference tilt early in the 2016 (9/2/16) at the DSU SAC in a 3-0 sweep. Then last season, the Trailblazers renewed acquaintances with the Yellowjackets and collected a road sweep in Spearfish, SD (9/8/19).
    DSU and South Dakota Mines have met just one other time on the volleyball court, which came in the Blazers' RMAC debut, and resulted a 3-0 Dixie State triumph in Rapid City (9/7/18).

COACHING STAFF: 2018 RMAC Co-Head Coach of the Year Robyn Felder (Eastern Washington, 2002; 122-79 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: After struggling through a 1-3 start at their own tournament to begin the 2019 season, the Trailblazers steam-rolled their way through the field at the Lubbock Christian Chap Classic last weekend in Texas. Dixie State posted a perfect 4-0 mark, which included four-set wins over Texas-Permian Basin (Thursday) and Southwestern Oklahoma State (Friday) in the first two matches. DSU then went on to sweep Pittsburg State in three sets Friday evening, and completed the weekend with a 3-1 triumph over the host Lady Chaps in Saturday's finale. 

TWO FOR 200: In addition to last weekend's road sweep, Dixie State came away with two program milestones. The first milestone moment happened in last Friday night's match vs. Pittsburg State, which was Head Coach Robyn Felder's 200th match on the Trailblazer sideline.
    Then in Saturday's finale at LCU, Dixie State reached the 200-win plateau as an NCAA member as the program improved to 200-155 (.536) all-time in its four-year era (13-plus seasons).

FRIDAY WAS A GOOD DAY: Junior RS/S Megan Treanor made program history in last Friday's win over SWOSU 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 PSU, then racked up nine kills, 15 assists, and 14 digs in a four-set triumph over LCU. Treanor, who now has 16 double-doubles in 34 career matches at DSU, also collected her 400th career assist (412) and a had career-high three aces for good measure against the host Lady Chaps.
    She finished the weekend averaging 10.25 kills (2.73 kps) with a .250 H%, 12.0 assists (4.53 apg), 1.5 aces, 9.5 digs (2.53 dps) and 3.75 blocks (1.0 bps) in the four wins on her way to LCU All-Tournament honors.

MVP...MVP...MVP: Senior MB/OH To'a Faleao made her 2019 debut a memorable one as she was named the LCU Tournament MVP after she averaged 12.0 kills, 2.0 aces, 10.25 digs and 1.5 blocks in four starts last weekend. Faleao began the tourney with a game-high 15 kills and 10 digs vs. UTPB, then went for eight kills, three aces, 19 digs and three total blocks (1 solo) in the SWOSU win.
    The senior collected 10 kills, four digs and two block assists in the three-setter vs. PSU, and close the tourney with a team-high 15 kills and eight digs vs. LCU.

I'LL TAKE GAMMELL FOR THE BLOCK: Senior RS/MB Lauren Gammell averaged 10.0 kills (2.67 kps) with a whopping .486 H%, and 5.0 total blocks (1.33 bps) to earn her LCU All-Tournament honors. She posted a seven-kill, four-block (1 solo) effort in the opener vs. UTPB, and followed that up with 13 kills (.571 H%) and three block assists in four sets vs. SWOSU. Then in the three-set sweep of Pittsburg State, she tallied a season-high 10 total blocks (1 solo) with six kills (.462 H%), and in the finale vs. LCU she threw down 14 kills (.591 H%) with three blocks (1 solo).
    Gammell's first block vs. UTPB was also her 300th-career block (319 total blocks - #1 all-time at DSU), while she enters this weekend's matches just nine block assists shy of becoming the first Trailblazer in program history to reach the 300 BA plateau (291).

TEAM NOTES: Junior setter Jordyn Nelson (1,301) recorded her 1,300th career assist late in the finale set at LCU last Saturday to become just the fourth player in the program's NCAA-era to dish out 1,300 or more dimes.
    Freshman OH Chayse Daugherty enjoyed a breakout performance in the four-set win vs. Stanislaus State (9/6), against which she posted her first collegiate double-double with career-highs of 11 kills and 10 digs ... she also co-led the team with eight kills vs. NNU (9/7).
    Freshman libero Mykenna Nelson has led the Trailblazer defense in digs in seven of eight matches this season, including a career-best 23 digs in her collegiate debut vs. St. Cloud State (9/5) ... the freshman also collected a career-best three aces vs. UTPB (9/12) ... after missing the last two seasons, sophomore DS Rebekah Farris has been solid contributor defensively, tying a career-high with nine digs on three occasions against St. Cloud State (9/5), Simon Fraser (9/6) and UTPB (9/12) ... sophomore RS Hailee Oviatt-Devillier collected a career-best six total blocks and tied career highs with nine kills and two digs in the Stanislaus win (9/6) ... junior OH Sydney Johnson led DSU with nine kills in the season opener vs. St. Cloud State (9/5), and recorded a career-best four total blocks vs. UTPB (9/12) ... junior OH Sai Collins threw down five kills in her Trailblazer debut vs. St. Cloud State (9/5) ... junior MB Lizzy Clark tallied a career-high 14 kills and three digs vs. SWOSU (9/13) and dished out a career-best four assists in the UTPB win (9/12).  
    As a team DSU is hitting .227, while Trailblazer opponents are hitting at a .176 clip through four matches this season ... DSU is averaging 13.11 kills, 16.18 digs and an RMAC-best (t-30th nationally) 2.21 blocks per set ... Dixie State hit a combined .268 at the LCU tourney, highlighted by a season-high .307 vs. SWOSU, which included season-best .581 H% in the third set ... meanwhile, the DSU defense limited its four opponents to a combined .125 H%, including a -.010 clip in the sweep of Pittsburg State, which marked the first time DSU had held an opponent to a negative H% in nearly two seasons (-.023 vs. Holy Names; 10/13/17) ... DSU was outblocked in a win for just the second time in two full seasons in the finale at LCU (5.0-6.0) ... the last time that happened also came on the road in a win at Central Washington (9.0-10.0, 9/8/17).

UP NEXT: Dixie State heads out for a four-match RMAC road swing, which begins next weekend at Western Colorado on Friday, Sept. 27, followed by a showdown at Colorado Mesa on Saturday, Sept. 28.