(St. George, Utah – Sept. 21, 2023) - The Utah Tech volleyball team got WAC conference play underway on Thursday evening falling in straight sets to California Baptist at Burns Arena.

Utah Tech (4-7/0-1 WAC) fought hard in the opening set falling 25-23 before California Baptist (8-4/1-0 WAC) was able to get the next two sets, 25-19 & 25-20.

The Blazers were led sophomore Kennedi Knudsen with 16 kills while hitting a career-best .438. Senior Hannah Howard reached double digits in kills for the fifth time this season adding 12 while hitting .400 and tacking on a pair of digs.

Setter Taela Laufiso dished out a team-high 32 assists, sophomore Kendyl Holt added a career-high three service aces and senior Emma Ricks had a team-leading 13 digs.

The opening set saw the Blazers keep pace with the Lancers through the early part before a 3-0 run for CBU put the visitors ahead 19-13. A 3-0 run for the Blazers, getting a pair of kills and a service ace from Mya Laufiso, brought Utah Tech within 21-18. After another 3-0 run for UT brought the Blazers within one at 24-23, the Lancers ended any threat with a kill.

A service ace from Knudsen kept the Blazers around midway through set two, trailing 15-11, but a 7-1 run for the Lancers pushed their lead to 22-12 . The Trailblazers responded with a 7-1 run of their own to get within four at 23-19, but back-to-back kills for CBU closed out the set.

The Blazers, who were swept for the first time in 2023, looked to respond positively in the third set jumping out to an 8-6 lead after a kill from Knudsen. A 9-2 run for the Lancers gave the visitors back the lead by five, 15-10 with the Trailblazers only able to trim the lead down to as close to three down the stretch.

Utah Tech outpaced California Baptist in kills (45-42), but the Lancers held the edge in service aces (7-5), digs (42-39), assists (41-36) and blocks (5-2).

The Trailblazers close out the opening weekend of WAC play on Saturday afternoon hosting Grand Canyon (8-4/1-0 WAC) at 1 p.m. at Burns Arena.