2021 DIXIE STATE VOLLEYBALL
(5-12, 4-5 WAC)

MATCH 18 - vs. Chicago State
Thursday, Oct. 28 - 6 p.m.
Burns Arena | St. George
 

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After dropping a 3-0 decision to Chicago State in Chicago on October 2, Dixie State volleyball is ready for a rematch and will host the Cougars on Thursday at 6 p.m. inside the Burns Arena.
 
The match will be streamed live on ESPN+, and live stat information can be found at DixieStateAthletics.com.
 
ALL-TIME VS. CHICAGO STATE: Thursday's match marks the fourth meeting between Dixie State and Chicago State. The Trailblazers built a 2-0 series lead during the Spring 2021 season with two consecutive 3-0 sweeps over the Cougars in St. George in March. Chicago State returned the favor with a 3-0 sweep in Chicago on October 2. Through three matches in the series, the home team has emerged victorious in each contest.   
 
KNOW YOUR FOE: Chicago State enters the week with a 13-7 overall record and a 5-3 mark in WAC play. The Cougars currently sit at fourth in the West Division and most recently earned pair of wins over Lamar and UT Rio Grande Valley. Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Yanlis Feliz accounts for over 35 percent of the CSU offensive attack. Feliz leads the WAC and ranks eighth nationally with 361 kills (4.95 k/s). Defensively, redshirt freshman libero Andrea Calderon leads the Cougars with 294 digs, while redshirt sophomore middle blocker Mesalina Severino ranks seventh in the WAC with a team-high 72 total blocks.
 
ALL-TIME IN CONFERENCE PLAY: In their 15 seasons (2007-2021) of NCAA conference membership, the Trailblazers have posted a 159-94 (.628) record in conference play, including a 90-37 (.709) mark at home. Since joining the WAC in 2020, DSU has posted a 12-13 (.480) record in conference play with a 7-4 (.636) mark at home.
 
HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE: Since joining the NCAA in 2006, Dixie State has posted a 108-48 (.692) overall record at home and has logged a winning record at home 11 times (2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, spring 2020), including eight consecutive home winning seasons. Until 2018, the Student Activities Center served as the main home venue for DSU Volleyball. The Trailblazers hosted season-opening tournaments inside the Burns Arena in 2018 and 2019, before making the arena its main home venue in Spring 2021. Dixie State has played to a 12-8 (.600) overall record inside the Burns Arena. 
 
WEEK IN REVIEW: Dixie State split its two matches in Abilene, Texas, last week. The Trailblazers rallied from a 2-0 deficit to claim a 3-2 win over Abilene Christian on Friday before dropping a 3-0 decision to Tarleton State on Saturday.
 
FIRST TO 20 KILLS: Freshman outside hitter Hannah Howard posted a career-high 22 kills to lead the Trailblazers to a 3-2 comeback win over Abilene Christian on Friday, marking the first time a DSU player has recorded 20 kills in a single match in the NCAA Division I era.
 
CAREER SETS PLAYED LEADER: After playing in all eight sets last week, senior setter Jordyn Nelson became the DSU Career Sets Played leader (NCAA era). Nelson has played in 390 sets and 107 matches since joining the Trailblazers in 2017.  
 
NEVER-ENDING SET: Dixie State and Tarleton State combined for 70 points (36-34) in the second set on Saturday, marking the Trailblazers' highest scoring set since the NCAA moved the winning point total from 30 to 25 in 2008.  The set featured 21 ties and eight lead changes, while the teams combined for 14 set-clinching opportunities before the Texans eventually claimed the set on the 15th try.
 
WELCOME TO THE CLUB: Sophomore libero Mykenna Nelson made DSU history on October 16 at Utah Valley, posting 11 digs to surpass the 1,000 career digs marks and join the 1,000 career digs club. Nelson has added 46 digs since then for a total of 1,047 career digs. Nelson is just the fifth NCAA-era Trailblazer to tally 1,000 career digs.
 
LEADING THE LEAGUE: With a total of nine blocks in Texas last week, freshman middle blocker Kate Hardy pushed her season total to 80. Hardy currently leads the WAC with an average of 1.25 blocks per set.
 
CHASING HISTORY: Senior outside hitter Megan Treanor tallied five kills vs. Utah Valley on October 14 to move her career total to 803 kills. Treanor needs just 48 kills to surpass Alex Shearer (850 kills) as the DSU All-Time Kills leader. 
 
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING: The Dixie State win at California Baptist on October 7 marked a night of firsts for the Trailblazers as DSU picked up its first road win of the season and the first road victory of the Camilla Hafoka era. Hafoka also accomplished a feat no other Dixie State NCAA-era volleyball coach has done: Win in Riverside. The win over CBU marks the first time in eight NCAA-era tries the Trailblazers have defeated the Lancers in Riverside.
 
A NEW ERA: For the first time since 2012, the Trailblazers opened the season with a new head coach. After two seasons serving as an assistant coach, Camilla Hafoka begins her first season as the new head coach of the Dixie State Volleyball program.

During her time on the Trailblazer sidelines, Coach Hafoka helped lead Dixie State to a 29-16 overall record. In her first season as an assistant coach, Dixie State played to a 20-8 overall record in the program's final year of NCAA Division II competition.This past spring, Hafoka helped guide DSU to a 9-8 overall mark in its debut NCAA Division I season, which included an 8-8 mark (t-4th) in its first season in the Western Athletic Conference.
 
Whitnee Tupe returns for her eighth season as a DSU assistant coach, while Julia Smith (Texas A&M, 2002) joins the staff after coaching last season at Snow College. Former DSU player To'a Faleao also joins the staff as a volunteer assistant coach, and Riley Lyman (BYU, 2020) will serve as Director of Volleyball Operations to round out the staff. 
 
LET'S RUN IT BACK: After posting a 9-8 overall record in its first season as an NCAA Division I member, Dixie State is ready to pick up where it left off in year two.
 
The Trailblazers return 13 players from the Spring 2021 season, including five starters. Senior outside hitter Megan Treanor (First Team All-WAC, 171 kills, 168 assists, 127 digs, 34 blocks, 25 service aces) headlines the returners and was named to the Preseason All-WAC team.
 
DSU returns three others who posted at least 100 kills in the spring, including junior outside hitter Whittnee Nihipali (149 kills), junior middle blocker Lauolive Tonga (116 kills), and freshman Kate Hardy (WAC All-Freshman team, 103 kills). Despite playing in only nine matches in the spring, senior setter Jordyn Nelson returns as DSU's spring leader in assists (249). Defensively, Hardy posted a team-high 52 blocks in the spring, while Tonga added 42.
 
YEAR TWO IN THE WAC: The Trailblazers enter their second season as a member of the WAC in 2021. DSU recorded an 8-8 mark in WAC play in the spring to finish in a fourth-place tie with Tarleton State.
 
With the addition of the four Texas schools (Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin) the conference standings have been split into two divisions: Southwest and West. Dixie State will play in the West Division, alongside California Baptist, Chicago State, Grand Canyon, New Mexico State, Seattle U, and Utah Valley, while the Southwest Division will feature Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, Tarleton State, and UT Rio Grande Valley.
 
The Trailblazers were picked to finish fifth in the West Division in the recent WAC Preseason Coaches Poll. DSU will play a 14-game WAC slate with a home-and-home against each member of the West Division, while traveling to Abilene, Texas, for matches against ACU and Tarleton.
 
TEAM NOTES:        Dixie State earned its first five-set victory of the season on Friday, rallying from a 2-0 deficit for a 3-2 win over Abilene Christian.
            The Trailblazers played a 36-34 loss in the second set vs. Tarleton State on Saturday, marking DSU's highest scoring set since 2007.                  
The Trailblazers picked up their first road win of the season with a 3-1 triumph over CBU on October 7. The win also marked DSU's first-ever road win over the Lancers.
            Dixie State recorded its largest-ever Burns Arena volleyball crowd on September 18, when 631 fans attended to see Dixie State take on Southern Utah. Only three other matches in DSU's NCAA era have seen more fans in attendance, with the biggest crowd coming on Oct. 6, 2017, when 1,004 fans packed the Student Activities Center to see the Trailblazers battle Hawaii Pacific. 
            Head Coach Camilla Hafoka made her debut as Dixie State head coach in August, marking the first time since 2012 the Trailblazers opened the season with a new head coach. Hafoka earned her first career win on September 18 in a 3-1 victory over SUU.
            Freshman outside hitter Hannah Howard posted a career-high 22 kills to lead the Trailblazers to a 3-2 comeback win over Abilene Christian on Friday, marking the first time a DSU player has recorded 20 kills in a single match in the NCAA Division I era. Howard leads DSU with 150 kills.
        Sophomore libero Mykenna Nelson tallied 34 digs last week to push her career total to 1,047 kills. Nelson is just the fifth DSU player in the NCAA era to record 1,000 kills. Nelson also ranks third in the WAC with 4.70 digs per set. 
        Freshman middle blocker Kate Hardy tallied nine total blocks last week to move her team-high total to 80 on the season. Hardy leads the WAC with 1.25 blocks per set.
            Senior setter Jordyn Nelson posted two double-doubles last week with 28 assists and 14 digs vs. Abilene Christian and 36 assists and 15 digs vs. Tarleton State. Nelson leads DSU with 291 assists.  
            Junior defensive specialist Rebekah Farris recorded a career-high 17 digs at Abilene Christian on Friday.
             
 
UP NEXT: Dixie State takes its final road trip of the 2021 season next week for matches at New Mexico State and Grand Canyon.