Utah Tech volleyball came from behind after dropping the first two sets to get a five set victory over Tennessee State Saturday afternoon. 

What Head Coach Camilla Hafoka said: "I loved the way our girls fought back today. We were down two sets and they got gritty and made the adjustments to make that come back. It was a great win for the team." 
 
How it happened: Tennessee State captured the momentum early in the first set by jumping out to an early four point lead over Utah Tech. The Trailblazers pushed back but could never catch the Tigers as the first set ended with a 25-18 score. 

The second set the Trailblazers found a groove and were able to hang with the Tigers keeping the score within one point. Utah Tech jumped out to a 14-11 lead but TSU went on a big run to take the second set 25-15. 

Utah Tech came out fighting in the third set sticking with TSU for a tied score of 7-7.  Whittnee Nihipali came up with a kill that sparked a 9-2 Trailblazer run to push Utah Tech to a 16-9 lead. TSU tried to gain some momentum scoring three consecutive points but UT was not deterred in the final points of the set. With a 22-16 lead, UT finished with three straight points thanks to a kill by Chayse Daugherty, a TSU error and a service ace by Taela Laufiso. UT claimed the third set with a 25-16 score. 

The fourth set patterned similarly to the third. With a tied 11-11 score, Utah Tech went on a 7-0 run that was sparked by a block by Kate Hardy and Daugherty. TSU brought the score back within one point but a Tiger service error killed the TSU momentum. Back-to-back Trailblazer kills by Bridgett Talia and Laufiso brought things to set point and another kill by Talia gave UT the 25-22 fourth set win. 

For the second time in the weekend Utah Tech entered a fifth set. The Trailblazers hit the halfway point first with a narrow one point lead. However, coming out of the switch, Utah Tech went on a 7-2 run to claim set five 15-9. 

Killin' It: Nihipali led the Trailblazers with 14 kills from 37 attacks. Bridgett Talia added 12 kills from 35 attacks.  Kate Hardy ended the match with a .438 percentage with eight kills from 16 attacks. Peyton Michaelson also posted a strong hitting percentage with six kills from 10 attacks for a .500.  
 
Laufiso ended the game with 44 assists. This is her second match this season with 40 or more assists in a game.  

In total, Utah Tech ended the match with 59 kills from 162  attacks with 20 errors for a .241  percentage.

Diggin' it: Utah Tech had three Trailblazers with double digit digs. Mykenna Nelson led with 27 digs while Hardy added 15 and Laufiso had 12. In total the Trailblazers ended with 75 digs. 

Notes to know: Utah Tech is now 5-2 overall on the season. The Trailblazers have now played in two five set matches this season and came out victorious in both.  Laufiso now leads the team with four double doubles on the season. 

Next Up: The Trailblazers will return home to host Idaho State on Sept. 16 and UNLV on Sept. 17.