Who | Utah Tech (8-14, 4-8 WAC) vs. UTRGV (14-8, 8-4 WAC) / at Southern Utah (5-17, 1-11 WAC)
When | Thursday, Nov. 2 – 6 p.m. / Monday, Nov. 6 – 6:30 p.m.
Where | Burns Arena - St. George, Utah / America First Event Center - Cedar City, Utah
Social Media | Instagram + Twitter (X) + #UtahTechBlazers

TRAILBLAZERS FALL IN PAIR OF ROAD WAC CONTESTS: Utah Tech dropped a pair of matches in straight sets on the road last week at Grand Canyon and California Baptist. Freshman outside hitter Adee Butler led the Trailblazers in kills in both matches while Marley Roe had a team-leading 14 assists against Grand Canyon and Meg Carter added a team-best 23 assists against California Baptist.

WAC STANDINGS: The Trailblazers enter the week tied for eighth in the WAC with Tarleton State at 4-8 with four matches remaining as the top eight teams in the regular season standings advance to the WAC Tournament hosted by Utah Valley on Nov. 16-18.

SENIOR NIGHT: Utah Tech will honor its three seniors on Thursday in fifth-year setter Taela Laufiso, middle blocker Kate Hardy and libero/defensive specialist Emma Ricks. Laufiso ranks fifth in program history with 1,505 assists and is sixth in assists per set at 6.92. Hardy is also among the career leaders in hitting percentage (.291), ranking second, is third in solo blocks (53), fifth in total blocks (259) and sixth in block assists (206). Finally, Ricks is in her second year at Utah Tech after spending a pair of seasons at USU-Eastern and has played in all 87 sets this season leading the team with 282 digs.

BULLDOGS IN NON-CONFERENCE ACTION: The Trailblazers posted a 4-6 mark in non-conference action with wins over Manhattan, CSU Bakersfield, New Mexico & Idaho while falling in five-set battles to Weber State, Fresno State and Marshall. Competing in three tournaments, the Blazers had three players earn All-Tournament honors in Emma Ricks (Weber State Invite), Sydney Reese (New Mexico Lobo Invite & UT Invite) & Taela Laufiso (Weber State, New Mexico Lobo Invite & UT Invite).

UTAH TECH SERIES vs. VAQUEROS: The Trailblazers and UT Rio Grande Valley have met four times with the series tied at two matches apiece. UTRGV won in a sweep at home earlier this season on Sept. 30 and fell in five sets on the road last season. The two teams met in St. George in the spring of 2021 with a pair of sweeps for the Blazers.

UTAH TECH SERIES vs. THUNDERBIRDS: The Blazers and Thunderbirds have met six times with the series tied at three apiece. Utah Tech swept Southern Utah at home earlier this season. The Trailblazers fell in four sets on the road last year and are 1-2 all-time on the road against SUU.

A LOOK AT UTRGV: UTRGV enters Thursday's match against the Trailblazers with a 14-11 overall record and an 8-4 mark in the WAC to sit in third place. The Vaqueros, who swept the Blazers at home at the end of September, are 7-3 on the road with five straight WAC road wins.

UTRGV ranks third in the WAC in assists (1,079) & kills (1,186) while checking in fourth in assists per set (11.99) & kills per set (13.18) and is fifth in hitting percentage (.229), opponent hitting percentage (.214), digs (1,282) and total attacks (3,117).

Individually, junior setter Luanna Emiliano leads the WAC in assists (909), is second in service aces (39) & assists per set (10.10) and is third in aces per set (0.43). Junior libero Kiaraliz Perez is second in digs per set (4.10) and third in digs (353).

A LOOK AT SOUTHERN UTAH: Southern Utah is 5-17 overall on the season and is 1-11 in the WAC sitting in 11th in the WAC. The Thunderbirds, whose lone WAC win came on the road at Tarleton State in four sets, have dropped six matches in a row and are 2-7 at home this season.

As a team, SUU ranks fifth in the digs per set (14.37) & team attacks per set (34.73), are sixth in digs (1,164) & seventh in service aces per set (1.35), opponent hitting percentage (.234) and team attacks (2,813).

Individually, redshirt senior outside hitter Andrea Spasojevic is 10th in digs (261) and 11th in kills per set (2.73).

WAC RANKINGS: The Blazers enter the week ranking fourth in opposing hitting percentage (.188) & aces per set (1.49), fifth in service aces (130), blocks per set (2.04) & blocks (177.5) and seventh in kills (1,024).

Sophomore Kennedi Knudsen is among the WAC leaders in kills per set sitting seventh at 3.10 and senior Emma Ricks is eighth in digs (282).

HARDY CLIMBING CAREER RANKS: Senior middle blocker Kate Hardy continues to climb the career ranks in three blocking categories sitting third in solo blocks (53), fifth in total blocks (259) and sixth in block assists (206). The Idaho native is also second all-time in career hitting percentage (.291).

UP NEXT: Utah Tech closes out the regular season with a pair of road matches next week traveling to Seattle (7-16, 2-10 WAC) on Thursday and Utah Valley (9-14, 6-6 WAC) on Saturday.