(Albuquerque, N.M. – Sept. 1, 2023) - The Utah Tech volleyball team split the opening day of the New Mexico Lobo Invitational on Friday falling in four sets to St. John's before defeating CSU Bakersfield in four sets in the evening at The Pit.

The Trailblazers (2-3/0-0 WAC) claimed the second set against St. John's (3-1) before falling in four sets to the Red Storm. The evening match saw Utah Tech win the first two sets versus CSU Bakersfield (3-2) before bouncing back from a setback in the third set to win in four sets over the Roadrunners.

In the opening set against St. John's, the Red Storm raced out to an 8-1 lead and extended their lead to eight at 16-8 to force a Trailblazer timeout. Out of the break, UT went on a 5-1 run to cut St. John's lead down to four at 17-13 after a Red Storm attack error.

A kill by the Trailblazers' Sydney Reese trimmed St. John's lead down to two at 24-22 as the Red Storm took the first set after a kill by Magda Stambrowska.
 
Utah Tech knotted the match up at one set apiece with a 25-19 win in set two. The Trailblazers jumped out to a 17-13 lead after a kill by Taylor Snow. A 6-2 run for the Red Storm tied the match at 19 apiece with Utah Tech closing out the set on a 6-0 run with a pair of kills, pair of blocks, a service ace and an attack error.
 
The third set saw both sides get out to a 13-13 tie after a kill by Reese and an attack error by the Red Storm. A kill by Kennedi Knudsen brang the Trailblazers back within one at 18-17 with Utah Tech scoring seven of the set's final eight points for a 25-18 set win.
 
Looking to force a fifth set, the Red Storm had different ideas for the Trailblazers cruising to a 25-8 set win to complete the four-set win for St. John's.

Hannah Howard and Knudsen led the Blazers with nine kills apiece, Taela Laufiso led the club with 28 assists and Emma Ricks added a team-high 16 digs. Reese chipped in a team-leading six blocks and Tricia Tua'one added five.

Utah Tech hit .040 in the match compared to .218 for St. John's and was led by a double-double from Erin Jones with 20 kills and 13 digs.

In the evening match against the Roadrunners, Utah Tech took the opening set, 25-19. The Trailblazers jumped out to a 19-14 lead after a service ace from Ricks and closed out the set with a kill from Reese.

The second set again saw the Trailblazers have a late rally closing out the set on an 8-1 run to extend a 17-13 lead for a 25-14 set win.

After CSUB claimed the third set, 25-17, Utah Tech closed out the match with a 25-20 win in the fourth set rallying back from a 15-10 deficit. A 9-5 run for the Trailblazers knotted the set at 19 apiece and after an attack error by UT, the Blazers scored the match's final six points with four kills and a pair of attack errors.

Reese led the Blazers with 11 kills against the Roadrunners while Taela Laufiso dished out 36 assists and Mya Laufiso added a team-high 16 digs. UT outhit CSUB, .158 to .073 and led the way in kills (48-39), blocks (8-5) and assists (43-36).

Utah Tech will close out tournament play on Saturday with a contest against host New Mexico (3-1) at 1:30 p.m. (MT).