OPENING SERVE: Dixie State (0-0) makes the short 53-mile drive to Cedar City to take on the Thunderbirds to officially begin its 2021 and Division 1 campaign. This marks the first time in Dixie State's NCAA era it will face the Thunderbirds, but it certainly won't be the last as Southern Utah along with the Western Athletic Conference announced in January that SUU will join the WAC as a full member beginning as early as the fall 2021 athletic season.
The matchup with Southern Utah will serve as the lone non-conference game the Trailblazers will play this season before they begin conference play on Jan. 25. Dixie State will face a total of 9 opponents and a total of 17 matches beginning Friday and spanning two months.
The matchup is slated to begin at 6:30 p.m. inside the America First Event Center. Live stats and streaming video information for the matchup can be found at www.dixiestateathletics.com.
KNOW YOUR FOE: Friday will mark the first time in Dixie State's NCAA era that it will square off with the Thunderbirds from Southern Utah University. SUU is coached by Pete Hoyer who is entering his third season as head coach. He sports a 21-30 overall record and a 15-16 conference record in his first two seasons.
Southern Utah comes off a season in which it finished with a record of 15-16 and 8-10 in conference play. This is improved from the Thunderbirds 6-24 mark in 2018. In fact, SUU hasn't had a winning season since the 2010 team went 16-15 overall with a 13-6 conference record.
SUU's most notable returner is Outside Hitter Stacey, Hone, who is entering her senior season with the T-Birds. Hone was second on the team last season in kills, with 374 and kills/set with 3.22.
COACHING STAFF: Head Coach Robyn Felder (Eastern Washington, 2002; 137-83 overall record) is in her ninth season at the helm of the Dixie State women's volleyball program. Last season, Felder led the Trailblazers to a 20-win season (20-8) and to a 3 seed in the 2019 RMAC conference tournament with a 14-4 conference record.
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). In Dixie State's first season as a full member in the RMAC, Felder lead her team to a NCAA era school-record tying 22 wins (22-6) and subsequently was named the 2018 RMAC Co-Head Coach of the Year.
Felder is joined on the DSU sideline by second-year assistant coaches Camilla Hafoka (Oregon State, 2010) and former DSU standout Makenzi Murphey (Dixie State, 2018). In addition, Whitnee Tupe (2nd season, Dixie State, 2007) returns to Felder's staff after a three-year stint as an assistant at Snow College, and Rick Reeve (BYU), is in his first season on the Trailblazers' staff.
NO LOVE IN PRESEASON POLLS: In its inaugural season in Division I, Dixie State was picked to finish 6th in the Western Athletic Conference preseason coaches' poll.
The 2019 regular season and back-to-back conference tournament champs New Mexico State was slated as the favorite to retain its title as it finished with eight of the nine first-place votes for a total of 64 points. NM State is led by Outside Hitter Savannah Davison, who was named the WAC preseason player of the year. The junior from Toronto, Canada was named to the 2019 All-WAC first team after finishing third in kills last season.
The rest of the top five rounded out with Grand Canyon (1 FPV – 55 pts) voted in second, followed by UT Rio Grande Valley (48 pts) in third, California Baptist (42 pts) in fourth, and Utah Valley (40 pts) in fifth place overall.
Dixie State finished in a three-way tie for sixth place alongside Seattle U and fellow WAC and Division I newcomer Tarleton State. All three teams received 21 points in the poll while Chicago State was tabbed to finish in ninth place with a total of 12 points.
No Dixie State players were voted to the preseason All-WAC Team despite the Trailblazers returning two-time All-RMAC first team selection and 2018 All-American Megan Treanor. Treanor, a senior from Salem, Utah, led the RMAC last season with three triple-doubles and finished in the top 10 in the league in kills, kills/set, aces, and aces/set. Treanor enters the 2021 season fourth in career kills/sets (3.00), eighth in career assists (655), and 10th in career assists/set (3.56) at DSU.
EXPANDING THE WAC: As it stands now, there are nine total teams the compete in volleyball within the Western Athletic conference. Namely, New Mexico State, UT Rio Grande Valley, Grand Canyon, California Baptist, Tarleton State, Utah Valley, Seattle U and Chicago State. The WAC, however, is expanding. With an announcement in January 2021, five new schools will be joining the Western Athletic Conference as full members beginning as early as Fall 2021.
Southern Utah University was named as one of the five schools making the transition alongside Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston State, and Stephen F. Austin. SUU makes the transition to the WAC after being a member of the Big Sky Conference since 2012.
The addition of the 5 new schools will create a 13-team conference as Chicago State will be leaving the conference. This conference will then be divided into two divisions for all sports except for football, men's basketball, and women's basketball. Dixie State will be in a division consisting of Southern Utah, Utah Valley, Grand Canyon, California Baptist, New Mexico State, and Seattle University. The other division will be comprised of the Texas-based schools, including Tarleton State, UT Rio Grande Valley, Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston State, and Stephen F. Austin.
LAST SEASON IN THE RMAC: After joining the RMAC in 2018, the 2019 season marked the second and final season the Trailblazers competed in the conference. In 2020, Dixie State transitioned to NCAA Division I status and became 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.
NEW HOME FLOOR: Beginning with the 2021 season, the Dixie State Volleyball Team will play all of its home matches inside the Burns Arena. The Trailblazers have played the majority of their home matches in the Student Activity Center during their 14 years in Division II, while playing in the Burns Arena sparingly and primarily for tournaments.
The Burns Arena has served as the primary home venue for the men's and women's basketball teams since 1986, but will now also be the home floor for the volleyball team as well.
UP NEXT: Dixie State will begin WAC play Monday, January 25 as it takes on the 2019 regular season and conference champion and 2021 preseason favorite New Mexico State.
The Aggies finished last season with a 27-4 overall record and a perfect 16-0 conference record. NM State defeated Grand Canyon to capture its second straight Conference Championship before losing the 13th ranked BYU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
