Volleyball hosts Grand Canyon and New Mexico State to open WAC play

2021 DIXIE STATE VOLLEYBALL
(1-7, 0-0 WAC)

MATCHES 9-10 - VS. GCU/NMSU
Thursday, Sept. 23 - vs. Grand Canyon - 6 p.m.
Burns Arena | St. George

Saturday, Sept. 25 - vs. New Mexico State - Noon
Burns Arena | St. George

Dixie State volleyball is set to open its Western Athletic Conference schedule this week and will play host to conference leaders Grand Canyon and New Mexico State inside the Burns Arena.

The Trailblazers will kick off the weekend with a 6 p.m. matchup against Grand Canyon on Thursday before welcoming New Mexico State for its first-ever trip to St. George on Saturday at Noon.

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

ALL-TIME IN CONFERENCE OPENERS: Dixie State has recorded a 7-7 record (.500) in conference openers since joining the NCAA ranks in 2006. The Trailblazers have opened conference play at home five times, posting a 3-2 mark in those matches. Thursday's match will mark the first time DSU will open conference play inside the Burns Arena.

ALL-TIME IN CONFERENCE PLAY: In their 14 seasons (2007-2020) of NCAA conference membership, the Trailblazers have posted a 155-89 (.635) record in conference play, including an 89-35 (.718) mark at home. The Spring 2021 season marked the first year DSU hosted conference games inside the Burns Arena, with the Trailblazers recording a 6-2 mark at home in its first season of WAC play.

ALL-TIME VS. GRAND CANYON: Thursday's match marks the 19th meeting between Dixie State and Grand Canyon, dating back to both programs' days as NCAA Division II members of the Pacific West Conference. GCU currently holds an 11-7 overall lead in the series, while DSU holds a 4-3 edge in games played in St. George. The teams first met on Oct. 4, 2006, in Phoenix, and played every season until 2013. The Trailblazers enjoyed their longest win streak of the series from 2008 to 2010, winning five consecutive matches. Since then, the Antelopes have won the last six matches, including two during the Spring 2021 season.

ALL-TIME VS. NEW MEXICO STATE: Saturday's match marks the third meeting between Dixie State and New Mexico State. The teams first met during the spring season in January in DSU's first-ever WAC contests. The Aggies earned back-to-back 3-1 victories in Tucson, Arizona, to take a 2-0 lead in the series.

KNOW YOUR FOE: Grand Canyon enters the weekend with a WAC-best 8-1 record, sweeping through its first two weekends before going 2-1 at the Portland State tournament. GCU saw its final two scheduled non-conference matches vs. UC Irvine and CSU Fullerton canceled last week due to COVID-19 protocols. The Antelopes lead the conference with 59 service aces and rank second in both hitting percentage (.244) and opponent hitting percentage (.160). Freshman outside hitter McKenzie Wise leads GCU with 98 kills and ranks fourth in the WAC with 3.92 kills per set. Defensively, senior libero Teagan DeFalco has posted a team-high 150 digs and ranks third in the WAC with 4.84 digs per set. Junior middle blocker Hannah Eskes ranks fifth in the conference with 29 total blocks and a 1.04 blocks per set average.

New Mexico State enters the weekend tied for the most wins in the WAC with a 9-3 overall record. Two of the Aggies' three losses have come to PAC-12 member Arizona. NMSU will head to Orem, Utah, for a WAC matchup with Utah Valley before making the trip to St. George. New Mexico State leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.252) and opponent hitting percentage (.146). Redshirt senior middle blocker Lia Mosher leads the WAC with a .458 hitting percentage, while senior right-side hitter Shaney Lipscomb ranks ninth with 131 total kills. Junior outside hitter Katie Birtcil has also eclipsed the century mark with 111 total kills. Defensively, sophomore libero Darian Markham leads the team and ranks fourth in the WAC with 180 digs, while Mosher ranks 11th in the conference with 31 total blocks.

WEEK IN REVIEW: Dixie State split its final two non-conference matches of the season, falling in five sets at Southern Utah on Friday before avenging the loss with a 3-1 win over the Thunderbirds inside the Burns Arena on Saturday.

HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE: Since joining the NCAA in 2006, Dixie State has posted a 107-46 (.699) 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 an 11-6 (.647) overall record inside the Burns Arena.

PACK THE BURNS: Dixie State recorded its largest-ever Burns Arena volleyball crowd on Saturday, when 631 fans attended to see the Trailblazers 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.

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 improved to 11-5 in home openers in its NCAA era with its 3-1 win over Southern Utah on Saturday.
            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 Saturday in a 3-1 victory over SUU.
            Junior outside hitter Whittnee Nihipali recorded 10 kills and eight digs in DSU's 3-1 win over Southern Utah to push her team-best mark to 69 kills and 2.34 kills per set.
            Freshman outside hitter Hannah Howard finished with double-figure kills in both matches last week, including a career-high 16 kills at Southern Utah on Friday and 11 more kills in the rematch in the Burns Arena on Saturday.
            Sophomore outside hitter Bridgett Talia recorded a career-high 14 kills at Southern Utah on Friday.
           Freshman middle blocker Kate Hardy enjoyed a solid week both offensively and defensively, posting 14 total kills and 12 total blocks in DSU's two matches. Hardy currently leads DSU with 26 total blocks on the season.
            Sophomore libero Mykenna Nelson recorded 48 total digs last week to push her team-best total to 153 for the year. Nelson leads the WAC with 4.94 digs per set.
            Sophomore outside hitter Chayse Daugherty posted her first double-double of the season with a career-high 17 kills and 16 digs at Southern Utah on Friday.
            Senior outside hitter Megan Treanor added 12 total kills, 10 total digs, and a pair of service aces to her season tallies. Treanor also moved up to No. 5 on the All-Time DSU Total Attacks list with 1,981 career attacks.
            Sophomore setter Taela Laufiso made her Fall 2021 debut last week, tallying 48 total assists in two matches. Laufiso recorder her first double-double of the season with a career-high 36 assists and 11 digs at Southern Utah on Friday.

UP NEXT: Dixie State opens a three-match road swing with a single match at Chicago State next Saturday, Oct. 2, at 1 p.m. Central Time (Noon MT).

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Players Mentioned

#11 Chayse Daugherty: OH; 5' 9"; Sophomore

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

#3 Hannah Howard: OH; 6' 0"; Freshman

#17 Taela Laufiso: S; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#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

#5 Bridgett Talia: OH; 5' 11"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#11 Chayse Daugherty
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: OH

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

#3 Hannah Howard
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: OH

#17 Taela Laufiso
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: S

#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

#5 Bridgett Talia
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: OH