(St. George, Utah – Oct. 21, 2023) - Despite dropping the first two sets on Saturday afternoon against UT Arlington, the Trailblazer volleyball team battled back to win the next three sets over the Mavericks to complete a reverse sweep at Burns Arena.

For the first time since Sept. 10, 2022 against Tennessee State, Utah Tech (8-12, 4-6 WAC) completed a reverse sweep as the Blazers dropped the first two sets, 21-25, 22-25 before taking the final three sets, 25-19, 25-13, 15-10.

With three Trailblazers finishing in double digits in kills, Sydney Reese led the Blazers with 17 kills while hitting a career-high .379. Senior libero Emma Ricks matched her career high with three service aces and was one of three Blazers to finish with a team-leading 12 digs.

After a 4-2 run for UT Arlington (16-7, 5-5 WAC) closed out an opening set win for the Mavericks, UTA again used a strong finish to the second set, this time going on a 5-3 run, to take a two set to none lead.

Much like it did on Thursday night against Stephen F. Austin, the Trailblazers came alive in the third set. Jumping ahead 11-6 after a kill by Taylor Snow, a kill by Reese extended Utah Tech's lead to 17-9 and a block by Snow gave the Blazers a six-point set win to stay alive in match.

A dominant fourth set, with the Blazers hitting .263 as a team, saw the Trailblazers jump on UTA quickly getting out to a 15-6 lead on their way to a 12-point win and force a fifth and deciding set for the seventh time this season.

Battling back from a 5-1 deficit to get the final set started, the Blazers ripped off an 8-1 run to push ahead 9-6 off a solo block by Kennedi Knudsen. After a kill by UTA got the visitors back within a pair, the Trailblazers reeled off three straight points for a 12-7 lead and a kill by Hannah Howard completed the reverse sweep for Utah Tech.

The Trailblazers held an edge over the Mavericks in service aces (9-5), blocks (17-11) and digs (63-60) while UT Arlington held an advantage in kills (63-60) and assists (56-54).

Utah Tech heads out on the road next week traveling to Grand Canyon (15-5, 8-1 WAC) on Thursday and California Baptist (12-9, 5-5 WAC) on Saturday.