Volleyball closes road swing at California Baptist and Seattle U

2021 DIXIE STATE VOLLEYBALL
(2-9, 1-1 WAC)

MATCHES 12 - AT CBU/SEATTLE U
Thursday, Oct. 7 - at California Baptist - 7 p.m. PT (8 p.m. MT)
CBU Events Center | Riverside, Calif.

Saturday, Oct. 9 - at Seattle U - 1 p.m. PT (2 p.m. MT)
Redhawk Center | Seattle, Wash.

The Dixie State volleyball team is set to close out its three-match road swing this week with a trip to the west coast for contests at California Baptist and Seattle U.

The Trailblazers open the weekend on Thursday with a 7 p.m. Pacific Time (8 p.m. MT) matchup against California Baptist inside the CBU Events Center in Riverside, California. DSU will take on Seattle U on Saturday at 1 p.m. PT (2 p.m. MT) in the weekend finale inside the Redhawk Center in Seattle, Washington.

Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+, and live stat information can be found at DixieStateAthletics.com.

ALL-TIME IN CONFERENCE PLAY: In their 15 seasons (2007-2021) of NCAA conference membership, the Trailblazers have posted a 156-91 (.631) record in conference play, including a 66-55 (.545) mark on the road. Since joining the WAC in 2020, DSU has posted a 9-10 (.474) record in conference play with a 2-7 (.222) mark on the road.

ALL-TIME VS. CALIFORNIA BAPTIST: Thursday's match marks the 18th meeting between Dixie State and California Baptist. The Lancers currently hold a 12-5 overall series lead, while DSU has never defeated CBU in Riverside. The teams first met in 2006, while 14 of the first 17 (2011-17) matchups in the series came when both teams were NCAA Division II members of the Pacific West Conference. The Trailblazers earned two wins over CBU in Spring 2021 in the first meeting between the teams as members of the WAC. Seven DSU players on the current active roster saw action in last season's two-match sweep vs. the Lancers. Megan Treanor led DSU offensively with 27 total kills, while Whittnee Nihipali added 20 kills and Kate Hardy tallied 15 kills. Jordyn Nelson recorded 85 assists to pace the Trailblazers, while Hardy and Treanor each finished with five total blocks.

ALL-TIME VS. SEATTLE U: Saturday's match marks the third meeting between Dixie State and Seattle U. The teams split their first two matchups in Seattle during the Spring 2021 season. The Redhawks claimed a 3-0 sweep in the first match before the Trailblazers bounced back with a 3-1 victory the following day. Eight DSU players on the current active roster saw action in last season's matches. Treanor posted a team-high 23 kills, while Hardy tallied a team-best seven total blocks.

KNOW YOUR FOE: California Baptist enters the week with a 7-6 overall record and a 2-1 mark in WAC action. The Lancers opened conference play with wins over Chicago State and New Mexico State and a 3-0 loss at Grand Canyon. The Lancers boast two outside hitters with 100 or more kills, as Christine Graf and Tesa Oaks have each tallied 125 kills, while setters Leah Pease (235 assists) and Hana Okuhara (203 assists) have both recorded more than 200 assists. Defensively, libero Paige Johnstone leads CBU with 179 digs, while middle blocker Chandler Gorman ranks seventh in the WAC with a team-best 33 total blocks.

Seattle U enters the week with a 3-11 overall record and an 0-3 conference mark as the Redhawks search for their first WAC victory. Outside hitter Eve Kerschenbaum leads Seattle U with a team-high 128 kills, while right side hitter Sierra Bartley has added 111 kills. Setter Darian Goins leads the Redhawks with 262 assists. Defensively, libero Katlyn Sipes has tallied a team-best 163 digs, while middle blockers Julia Queiroz and Lauren McCabe have each recorded 30 total blocks. Seattle U will host Utah Valley on Thursday before taking on Dixie State on Saturday.

ON THE ROAD: The Trailblazers have recorded an 87-84 (.509) record in true-road matches during its NCAA era, and have logged a winning record on the road nine times (2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019). Additionally, DSU has posted a 34-47 (.420) record in neutral-site matches.

WEEK IN REVIEW:Dixie State traveled to take on Chicago State for its first conference road match of the season. The Trailblazers held a 19-16 lead in the first and second set, but were unable to close out the frames, and the Cougars claimed a 3-0 sweep.

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 Staterecorded 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.
            Senior outside hitter Megan Treanor led DSU with 13 kills vs. Chicago State. She also recorded two blocks and two services aces. Treanor also leads the team with eight services aces. Additionally, Treanor moved up to No. 4 on the All-Time DSU Kills per Set list, moving her career average to 2.94 k/s.
            Senior setter Jordyn Nelson tallied a team-high 21 assists and is just two assists shy of leading the team in assists with 137 total assists.
Freshman outside hitter Hannah Howardnotched seven kills vs. CSU and two blocks. Howard currently leads DSU with 89 total kills.
Freshman middle blocker Kate Hardyposted four total blocks vs. the Cougars to push her team-high mark to 38 total blocks.
            Sophomore libero Mykenna Nelson finished with 15 digs in Saturday's loss to push her team-best total to 200 for the year. Nelson ranks seventh in the WAC with 4.88 digs per set.

UP NEXT: Dixie State will play a conference home-and-home against in-state foe Utah Valley next week, hosting the Wolverines on Thursday before traveling to Orem for a rematch on Saturday.

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Players Mentioned

#6 Kate Hardy: MB; 6' 0"; Freshman

#1 Jordyn Nelson: S; 5' 6"; Senior

#7 Mykenna Nelson: L; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#15 Whittnee Nihipali: OH; 6' 2"; Junior

#16 Lauolive Tonga: MB; 5' 10"; Junior

#13 Megan Treanor: OH/S; 6' 1"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#6 Kate Hardy
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: MB

#1 Jordyn Nelson
: 5' 6"; Senior
: S

#7 Mykenna Nelson
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: L

#15 Whittnee Nihipali
: 6' 2"; Junior
: OH

#16 Lauolive Tonga
: 5' 10"; Junior
: MB

#13 Megan Treanor
: 6' 1"; Senior
: OH/S