(St. George, Utah - Sept. 26, 2024) - The Trailblazer volleyball team opened WAC play on Thursday night with a sweep over Abilene Christian at Burns Arena.

Utah Tech (7-4, 1-0 WAC) completed its fourth sweep of the season taking sets, 25-13, 25-22, 25-12 over ACU (5-7, 0-1 WAC).

Led by a near double-double by outside hitter Kennedi Knudsen, the junior led the Trailblazers with 12 kills and nine digs.

Junior middle blocker Taylor Snow added a team-leading eight blocks while fellow junior Casidy Fried matched her season-high with four service aces.

A 4-0 run early in the opening set got the Trailblazers off to an 8-3 lead. A 7-1 run for Utah Tech midway through the set pushed the Blazers lead to 16-7 after a kill by Nana Asiata. UT extended their lead to as many as 14 (24-10) while a kill by Knudsen sealed the set win.

The second set saw the Blazers open up with a 12-8 lead and push it as many as eight at 17-9 after a kill by Hannah Howard. A 9-4 run for ACU cut the Trailblazers' lead to 21-18. Taking a 24-20 lead, the Wildcats staved off two set points for the Blazers, but an emphatic kill by Howard wrapped up the set and gave UT a 2-0 set lead.

With the Wildcats jumping out to a 7-6 lead in the third set, the Trailblazers ripped off a 12-0 run, highlighted by four kills and three service aces, to take a 18-7 advantage.

UT closed out the set on a 7-5 run capped off by a kill from Knudsen to complete the sweep.

Utah Tech led Abilene Christian in kills (36-22), hitting percentage (.279 - -.022), service aces (7-2), blocks (10-2), assists (34-22) and digs (39-34).

The Trailblazers close out the weekend on Saturday afternoon with a contest against Tarleton State (5-9, 0-1 WAC) at 12 p.m. at Burns Arena.