After a long-anticipated, COVID-delayed season, the Dixie State Volleyball team earned its first Division 1 win after sweeping Southern Utah University in three sets Friday in Cedar City.
 
The Trailblazers came out firing against the Thunderbirds as they nabbed an early 13-5 lead.  SUU would climb back into the set by going on an 11-5 run to bring the first set to 18-16.  The Trailblazers would close the door as they allowed only two points in the final nine volleys to secure the opening frame 25-18.  DSU committed a match-low 4 errors throughout the entire first set while finishing the set with a .281 hitting percentage.  Meanwhile, the Trailblazers forced SUU into 10 errors and a negative hitting percentage.
 
Set two was a classic back-and-forth battle for the first half of the session as it was knotted at 10 halfway through.  DSU would slowly begin to creep away as the Thunderbirds tried to hold on.  A late charge by SUU would come up short and Dixie State would hold on to take set two 25-21.  Despite the close score, the second set was by far the best for Dixie State in terms of hitting percentage as the Trailblazers tallied a scorching .412 hitting percentage.
 
The T-Birds wouldn't go down without a fight, however, as they gave DSU everything it could handle in the third, and would-be final, set.  After a 13-13 tie half way through the set, Dixie State worked itself into a 20-16 lead, but it had to work overtime to close out SUU.  The T-birds worked it back level at 23 before DSU rattled off three out of four points to secure a 26-24 set-three victory and a clean sweep of the Thunderbirds in its Division 1 debut.
 
The Trailblazers finished the match with a hitting percentage of .311 while putting the clamps down on the other end limiting SUU to a meager .145 hitting percentage.  Whittnee Nihipali and Megan Treanor led the way for the Trailblazers as both finished in double figures in kills with 12 and 11, respectively.  Nihipali and Treanor also notched double-doubles, as Nihipali secured 13 digs while Treanor handed out 17 assists.  Jordyn Nelson was also in a helping mood as she recorded a team-high 22 assists in the victory.
 
This matchup against SUU will serve as the lone non-conference game for the Trailblazers as it will now jump right into conference play.  DSU will travel down to Tuscon, Arizona to face the preseason WAC favorite New Mexico State for two matches on Jan 25 and 26.