THE MATCHES:
• Utah Tech will hit the road for a single match against Sam Houston State.
• Live stream for the SHSU match will be on ESPN+
• Live Stats for the match can be found at: https://bit.ly/3yvHWVq
QUICK HITS:
• Utah Tech currently has am 8-7 record and a 2-4 record in WAC play.
• Utah Tech is currently No. 11 in the WAC standings.
• UT is coming off a split weekend with one loss and one win.
•
Camilla Hafoka is in her second season as head coach.
NOTES TO KNOW:
• Senior Libero
Mykenna Nelson has 1,381 career digs she sits at No.4 in school history in all-time digs.
•
Kate Hardy currently sits at No. 2 in school history career hitting percentage with a .252 percentage.
• UT is currently on a one game winning streak.
• Utah Tech is in its third year of the NCAA Division I transition.
UTAH TECH STAT QUICKIES:
• The Trailblazers are hitting .200 on the season
• Utah Tech averages 12 kills per set.
• UT is averaging 1.2 ace per set.
• Utah Tech has 946 digs and average 16.0 per set.
COACHING STAFF: Camilla Hafoka is in her second season as Utah Tech head coach. Hafoka has a 15-22 record as a head coach at UT and a 8-12 record in the WAC. Hafoka brought back with her assistant coach Whitney Tupe and added
Rob Berrett and volunteer assistant To'a Faleao.
SEASON OPENERS: Utah Tech has a 7-10 overall record in season openers in the NCAA era including this year's four set win over Northern Arizona. They are also 2-3 season openers while on the road, 2-1 at home and 3-6 in openers at a neutral location.
HOME OPENERS: Utah Tech has an 12-5 overall record in home openers in the NCAA era inlcuding this years three set win over Cal State Fullerton.
STAT LEADERS:
Whittnee Nihipali leads Utah Tech with 168 kills on the season and averages 2.95 per set. She's hitting .208 so far on the season.
Taela Laufiso leads the Trailblazers in assists with 505 on the season.
Defensively,
Mykenna Nelson leads with 292 digs averaging 4.95 per set.
Kate Hardy leads with 57.0 total blocks and 12 solos.
IN THE WAC:
The Trailblazers are in the top ten in both assists and kills. UT is No.4 in assists with a total of 699 averaging 11.85 per set UT. The Trailblazers are No. 5 in kills with 756 total on the season averaging 12.64.
Utah Tech is tied at No.1 in the WAC in aces average with 101 total on the season averaging 1.71 per set.
The Trailblazers are No. 2 in the WAC in blocks averaging 2.30 blocks per set with 135.5 total on the season. Also on the defensive side of the ball, the Trailblazers are No. 2 dig avearge with 16.03 digs per set with 946 total.
KNOW YOUR FOE SAM HOUSTON STATE: SHSU comes into the weekend with a 6-14 overall record and a 3-3 WAC record. The Bearkats are on a two game losing streak. Sam Houston has recorded 854 kills from 2649 attacks with 426 errors for a .162 percentage on the season. The Bearkats have 789 assists and 93 service aces. Defensively, SHSU averages 14.30 digs per set with 1101 total. Sam Houston is averaging 1.86 blocks per set with 143.5 total on the season.
SHSU are led by Catherine Krieger who has 224 kills on the season and is hitting .197 on the season. She averages 2.91 kills per set. McKenzie Morvant leads with defensive efforts on the net with 65.0 total blocks and 19 solo on the season. Hannah Baker leads the Bearkats in digs averaging 4.82 digs per set and has 371 total on the season.
BEARKATS vs. TRAILBLAZERS:
This is the first match up between the two teams.
