(Charleston, S.C. - Sept. 13, 2024) - The Trailblazer volleyball team opened up action at the College of Charleston Invitational on Friday splitting a pair of matches defeating Middle Tennessee in five sets before falling to host College of Charleston in four sets at TD Arena.

Utah Tech (5-2) dropped the opening set against Middle Tennessee (2-5), 18-25, won the next two sets, 25-22, 26-24, fell in set four, 23-25, before winning the fifth set, 15-6.

Junior outside hitter Kennedi Knudsen led the Trailblazers in kills for the sixth straight match tallying 17 kills to go along with a career-high 18 digs for her first double-double of the season. Sophomore outside hitter Tessa Treanor registered her second straight double-double notching 13 kills and 12 digs.

Sophomore libero Mya Laufiso tallied a team-leading 20 digs while setters Meg Carter and Marley Roe each dished out over 20 assists with Carter leading the way with 21 and Roe adding 20. Taylor Snow registered a season-high eight blocks as Utah Tech out blocked Middle Tennessee, 13-8. In addition, the Trailblazers led the Blue Raiders in service aces (10-7) and digs (77-72) while MTSU narrowly led in kills (55-54).

The night contest against the College of Charleston (4-4) saw the Trailblazers win the opening set, 25-21 before dropping the final three sets, 20-25, 22-25, 16-25.

The second match saw Knudsen notch a second double-double of the day registering a team-leading 17 kills to go along with 10 digs. Treanor added another double-double racking up 10 kills and 17 digs and Roe joined in on the double-double fun chipping in 21 assists and 10 digs.

Middle Tennessee Recap
The Trailblazers fell behind in the opening set, 9-2 before reeling off an 8-0 run to jump ahead, 10-9. The Blue Raiders continued to lead by one, 15-14 before ripping off an 8-1 run to push ahead, 23-15 and tacked on a kill and service ace to take a 1-0 lead.

The second set saw the Trailblazers jump out to an 11-6 lead after a kill by Treanor. After ties at 15 and 16, Middle Tennessee jumped ahead by one at 22-21, but the Trailblazers closed out the set winning the final four points racking up three kills and a service ace by Carter.

Keeping their foot on the pedal, the Trailblazers raced out to a 20-13 lead in the third set after a MTSU attack error. A kill by Hannah Howard pushed the Blazers lead to 23-19, but five straight points from the Blue Raiders put Middle Tennessee ahead by one, 24-23.

A kill by Nana Asiata locked up the match at 24 and a kill by Asiata and a service ace by Treanor pulled out a back-and-forth third set for the Trailblazers.

The fourth set saw the Blue Raiders jump ahead 14-9 to start the set with the Trailblazers pulling within two at 16-14 after a kill by Treanor. Another kill by Treanor kept the Blazers within one, 20-19 and blocks by Snow & Elise West pulled the Trailblazers back within one at 24-23, but a kill by MTSU forced a fifth set.

Heading to a fifth and deciding set for the third time this season, the Blazers put together a dominant frame hitting .417 as a team. Racing out to a 6-2 lead after a service ace by Laufiso, a kill by Snow extended it to 10-4. A kill by Treanor and one final pair of blocks by West and Casidy Fried sealed the victory for the Trailblazers.

College of Charleston Recap
Winning the opening set of the nightcap, the Blazers broke open a 14-14 tie with a 4-0 run to take a 18-14 lead. Maintaining a four-point lead after a kill by Howard put Utah Tech ahead, 23-19, back-to-back kills by Howard and Knudsen gave the Trailblazers a 1-0 set lead.

The second set saw the Trailblazers and Cougars trade points in the early going with Charleston narrowly leading 18-17 after a kill by Snow. A 6-0 run for Charleston put the Cougars on the brink of the set win and a service error by the Blazers gave the home team the set win.

Looking to take a lead in the third set, the Trailblazers fell behind in the early part of the set, trailing 20-15. UT reeled off a 4-0 run to cut the Cougars' lead to one. A kill by Knudsen kept the Trailblazers trailing by one at 23-22, but the final two points of the set went to Charleston.

With the Blazers getting out to a 8-7 lead in the fourth set, a 10-1 run for the Cougars put Charleston up, 17-9. The Trailblazers were only able to get within five on three different occasions as the final four points of the set went to Charleston to clinch the win.

Up next
The Trailblazers close out the College of Charleston Invitational on Saturday with a contest against Robert Morris (3-4) at 3 p.m.