OPENING SERVE:  After suffering two losses at the hands of Grand Canyon University, Dixie State (3-4/2-4 WAC) looks to rebound and get back into the win column as it hosts a former PacWest rival in California Baptist University.
 
The Trailblazers suffered two losses via sweep at the hands of the Antelopes last week, their first an only two defeats via sweeps of far as they near the half-way point of the season.  Another stiff test lies around the corner as the Lancers come to Burns Arena for a two-match pod series.
 
The first of the two matches will take place on Monday, February 15 at 6 p.m., with match two on Tuesday, February 16 beginning at 12 noon inside Burns Arena.  Live stats and video streaming information can be found at dixiestateathletics.com.
 
KNOW YOUR FOE: CBU began the season on a four-match winning streak win victories coming against Life Pacific, two against Tarleton State, and Utah Valley University.  The Lancers only loss was to the UVU Wolverines in a 3-1 defeat last Tuesday. CBU enters Monday's matchup with a 4-1 overall record and a 3-1 mark in the Western Athletic Conference.
 
The Lancers are coming off a season in which they posted a 14-16 overall record and a 7-9 benchmark in conference play, which was good enough for a fifth place finish within the WAC.  CBU culminated last season with a 3-2 victory in its final match against UC Riverside. 
 
The team consists of three seniors, three juniors, four sophomores, and seven freshmen, including two members of the 2021 preseason All-WAC Team; Sophomore Outside Hitter Christine Graf and Senior Middle Blocker Sydney Marks.  The Lancers are coached by Branden Higa who is in his ninth season at the helm and sports a 161-76 overall record during that time.

COACHING STAFF: Head Coach Robyn Felder (Eastern Washington, 2002; 138-86 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.
 
LAST TIME OUT: A rough afternoon for Dixie State (3-4/2-4 WAC) saw the Trailblazers drop their second straight game to Grand Canyon in a 3-0 defeat.  
 
It was tough going all the way around for DSU in the second match of this two-match pod series in which the Trailblazers dropped game one in a 3-0 sweep.  GCU played tough defensively and held the Trailblazers to a season low .071 hitting percentage.  Dixie State never hit over .150 in any of the three sets on their way to suffering its fourth loss of the season.
 
The Lopes came out firing in the first set and turned a three point lead into a 12 point lead thanks to a 10-1 run midway through the set.  The lead proved to be unsurmountable for the Trailblazers and GCU took the set 25-16.
 
Set two saw much of the same as the Lopes jumped out to a quick 11-2 lead.  A few Dixie State runs brought the score closer but it was too much to overcome and GCU took the second set 25-17.  The Lopes defense was stout as it forced the Trailblazers into a game-high nine errors throughout the set and a .000 hitting percentage as a result.
 
Dixie State hung with the Lopes throughout the first half of the third set, but another run by GCU increased the lead and eventually a set-three win by a score of 25-20.  With the win, GCU improves to 4-0 in the Western Athletic Conference and sits atop the WAC standings alongside 2019 regular season and tournament champion New Mexico State.
 
Sydney Johnson led the Trailblazers offensively with seven kills.  Megan Treanor recorded her fifth double-double of the season tallying 13 assists and 10 digs.  McKenna Nelson had 13 digs in the loss.
 
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.

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: The Trailblazers will head back out onto the road to take on the Redhawks of Seattle University.
 
Seattle U has begun its season win an overall record of 0-4 including opening the season with two losses against Utah Valley University(0-3/1-3) as well as back-to-back losses against Tarleton State University(2-3/0-3).  The Redhawks are coming off a 2019 campaign that saw them finish seventh in the WAC standings with an overall record of 13-18 and a conference mark of 4-12.  Match one will take place on Monday, February 22 at 6 p.m. followed by game two on Tuesday, February 23 at 2 p.m.  Live streaming will be aired on ESPN+ and live stats will be available at dixiestateathletics.com.