Utah Tech opened the 2023 season on the short end of two matches during the first day of play at the Weber State Wildcat Invitational on Friday at Swenson Gym. The Trailblazers (0-2/0-0 WAC) saw a 2-0 set lead disappear in a tough five-set loss to the host Wildcats in the first match of the day, while the Trailblazers were turned away by Saint Mary's in a four-set battle in the nightcap.

In game one vs. Weber State, the Wildcats (1-0) raced out to a commanding 17-10 lead and were one point away from claiming the opening set at 24-18. However the Trailblazers (0-2) used their defense to claw back into it, forcing four-straight WSU errors, including tandem blocks from Sydney Reese and Tricia Tua'one, while Reese and Kate Hardy combined for another stop, that trimmed the Utah Tech deficit to 24-22.
 
Hannah Howard followed that up the with the fifth of her six kills in the set, then after another Wildcat ball-handling error, Howard put an exclamation point on the rally with her final kill of the frame as the Blazers scored the final eight points to claim set one by a 26-24 count.
 
The two teams see-sawed back and forth to begin set two, but the Trailblazers managed to rattle off four-straight points to open up a 12-8 advantage. Weber State would eventually knot the score at 22-22 late, but a Wildcat error and consecutive kills from Reese and Howard propelled  Utah Tech to a 25-22 set victory and a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Weber State stormed back to even the match at 2-2 thanks to decisive wins in sets three (25-14) and four (25-15) to force a deciding fifth set. 
 
Utah Tech looked as if it had stopped the momentum with a quick 4-1 run to open the stanza. However the Wildcats would go on to outscore UT 14-2 the rest of the way to complete the comeback and clinch the home win with a 15-6 set victory. 
 
Howard led the Blazers with 15 kills, while Reese wound up with nine kills and five block assists. Kennedi Knudsen made the most of her Trailblazer debut as she posted a double-double with 11 kills and 17 digs, and Taela Laufiso collected 43 assists and 13 digs. 
 
Utah Tech hit .129 in the match, though the Trailblazers were doomed from the third set on as UT hit just .049 over the final three frames. 

Weber State hit .203 for the match and had three players tally double figures in kills, led by Dani Richins with a game-high 17 kills. 
 
Against SMC, the Trailblazers found themselves in a quick 0-2 hole vs. the Gaels as SMC (2-0) claimed the first two sets by scores of 25-20 and 25-23. 
 
Utah Tech bounced back to win the third set, 25-20, but Saint Mary's quickly squashed any hopes of a Blazer comeback as the Gaels raced out to a commanding 15-6 lead in the fourth and clinched the match with a 25-14 set win. 

Knudsen tallied a career-high 12 kills to lead the Trailblazers, while Howard added 11 nine kills and six digs. Meanwhile Laufiso notched her second double-double of the day with 30 assists and 10 digs.
 
UT hit .164 in the match and finished with 13 total blocks, including match-high five block assists from Blazer newcomer Taylor Snow.

Utah Tech will wrap up tourney play on Saturday with a date against Manhattan beginning at 12:30 p.m. (MT).