Women's Volleyball | 10/7/2025 4:00:00 PM

Match #16
Who | Utah Tech (12-3, 3-0 WAC) at Tarleton State (8-7, 2-1 WAC)
When | Thursday, Oct. 9 – 5 p.m. MT
Where | Wisdom Gym - Stephenville, Texas
Social Media | Instagram + Twitter (X) + #UtahTechBlazers

Match #17
Who | Utah Tech (12-3, 3-0 WAC) at Abilene Christian (6-11, 1-2 WAC)
When | Saturday, Oct. 11 – 12 p.m. MT
Where | Moody Coliseum - Abilene, Texas
Social Media | Instagram + Twitter (X) + #UtahTechBlazers

OPENING SERVE
The Trailblazers head out on the road this week traveling to Texas to face Tarleton State on Thursday night and Abilene Christian on Saturday afternoon.

LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK
The Trailblazers returned home for the first time in nearly a month last week sweeping California Baptist and took down Utah Valley in four sets.

Earning their eighth sweep of the season, Knudsen led the Trailblazers with 18 kills hitting .452 and took sets 25-17, 25-13, 25-18 over the Lancers.

Two days later on Saturday against the Wolverines, the Trailblazers overcame an opening set loss to claim the final three sets, 25-16, 25-19, 25-19.

Knudsen led the Trailblazers in kills in both matches finishing with 17 kills and 18 kills, respectively, while hitting .308 to go along with 12 digs & three blocks.

GLANCE AT THE TARLETON STATE TEXANS
Tarleton State is 8-7 overall on the season with a 2-1 mark in WAC contests sitting in a second-place tie for Utah Valley.

The Texans are 4-3 at home with wins over UT Arlington (3-2), Louisiana Tech (3-0), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (3-0) and Northwestern State (3-0).

TSU, who went 7-22 last season, finished in ninth in the WAC last season with a 2-14 mark.

The Texans currently lead the WAC in digs per set (14.33), rank second in hitting percentage (.215) & are third in blocks per set (2.37), assists per set (11.18), digs (817) and total blocks (135.0).

Individually, senior middle blocker Emma Burke checks in third in the WAC in blocks per set (1.25) and blocks (71). Redshirt senior libero Morgan Carter is second in digs per set (4.16) and third in digs (237).

SERIES HISTORY VS. TARLETON STATE
The Trailblazers and Texans have met eight times in series history with Utah Tech leading 5-3.

Utah Tech won both matches last season sweeping the Texans on the road last season and won in four sets at home.

The Trailblazers are 3-1 at Tarleton State adding wins in 2023 (3-2) and in the spring of 2021 (3-0) to go along with 2024.

GLANCE AT THE ABILENE CHRISTIAN WILDCATS
Abilene Christian is 7-11 on the season and 1-2 mark in WAC action tied for fourth in the conference along with UT Arlington and Southern Utah.

The Wildcats are 2-3 at home with wins over Missouri State (3-1) and Northwestern State (3-0) and are coming off their first WAC victory at UT Arlington on Oct. 4.

ACU went 10-18 overall in 2024 and finished eighth in the WAC regular season.

The Wildcats lead the WAC in assists (806), kills (879) & total attacks (2,311) while ranking second in aces per set (1.88), assists per set (12.03), kills per set (13.12) & service aces (126).

Junior setter Rachel Koss leads the WAC & ranks 11th nationally with 594 assists. Junior outside hitter Aubrey Beaver is third in the conference in kills (198) and redshirt freshman Brennan Ramirez is second in digs (275) and third in digs per set (4.10).

SERIES HISTORY VS. ABILENE CHRISTIAN
The Trailblazers lead the overall series over Abilene Christian, 4-2.

Utah Tech is 2-1 on the road at ACU with a sweep last season and took home a victory in five sets in the fall of 2021.

The Trailblazers won both matches over the Wildcats in 2024.

OFF TO A HOT WAC START
The Trailblazers are off to their second straight 3-0 WAC start and are looking for their first 4-0 start to WAC play in program history with a victory om Thursday.

WINS PILING UP
Entering action on Tuesday (Oct. 7), 42 Division I teams have posted 12 or more wins this season and the Trailblazers lead the WAC in victories.

More than half of the programs with 12 or more wins hail from a non-Power Four conference (22 of 42).

NOT ONE, NOT TWO, NOT THREE, BUT FOUR TIMES!
Seeing her streak of four straight Jersey Mike's A Sub Above WAC Player of the Week come to an end last week, Knudsen has put together a strong start to the season.

Individually, Knudsen leads the WAC in kills (261 - 11th nationally), total attacks (664 - 22nd nationally), points (284.0 - 20th nationally), kills per set (4.83 - 8th nationally), attacks per set (12.30 - 6th nationally) and points per set (5.26 - 11th nationally).

In addition, Knudsen was named the MVP of the Utah Tech Tournament and to the All-Tournament Team at the Boise State Invitational.

WHERE UTAH TECH RANKS IN THE WAC IN 2025
As a team, the Trailblazers lead the WAC in assists per set (12.31), hitting percentage (.235), kills per set (13.52) & attacks per set (35.31) & opponent hitting percentage (.155 - 12th nationally) while ranking second in digs per set (14.13), blocks per set (2.76 - 19th nationally), total blocks (149.0 - 26th nationally).

In addition to Knudsen's top marks in the WAC, Taylor Snow ranks second in the WAC in blocks per set (1.38) & third in blocks (72 - 35th nationally) while Casidy Fried is fifth in blocks per set (1.20) & fifth in blocks (65).

Laufiso ranks fourth in the WAC in digs per set (3.80) and total digs (205).

ON THE ROAD
Since joining the NCAA ranks in 2006, Utah Tech has recorded a 104-108 (.491) record in true-road matches and has logged a winning record on the road nine times (2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019).

Additionally, the Trailblazers have posted a 48-54 (.471) record in neutral-site contests.

KNUDSEN TOPS RECORD CHARTS
Knudsen became the all-time career leader in kills on Sept. 19 against Northern Colorado passing Alex Shearer (850, 2008-11) for the most kills in program history in the NCAA era.

With 975 career kills in 68 matches as a Trailblazer, Knudsen has averaged 3.81 kills per set and racked up 2,617 total attacks, marks both ranking second in program history.

Knudsen is 25 kills shy of passing the 1,000-career kill mark.

HITTING 1K
Junior setter Marley Roe became the eight Trailblazer in the NCAA era to hit the 1,000-career assist mark in a sweep over San Francisco on Sept. 13.

She has recorded 1,139 career assists in 65 career matches and currently ranks sixth in program history.

STELLAR START
Off to a 12-3 start to the season, the Trailblazers have matched the 2018 team as the best start to a season after 15 matches.

EARLY SEASON TOURNAMENT ACTION
The Trailblazers got the season started at the The Rebel Challenge sweeping CSUB and UNLV while dropping a five-set battle against Iowa.

The following weekend saw the Trailblazers add a pair of sweeps over Weber State and Charleston Southern along with a five-set win over Sacramento State at the Utah Tech Tournament.

The Trailblazers then traveled to the Boise State Invitational earning sweeps over Idaho State and San Francisco while falling in straight sets to Boise State.

Non-conference action wrapped up at the Into the Blue Invitational hosted by Air Force winning four-set battles over Northern Colorado and the Falcons while falling in five sets to Denver.

Nana Asiata and Roe earned All-Tournament honors at the The Rebel Challenge while Laufiso, Fried were tabbed All-Tournament honors and Knudsen was named MVP of the tournament. Knudsen and Snow were tabbed All-Tournament selections in Boise.

UP NEXT
The Trailblazers complete their Texas road swing next weekend taking on UT Arlington (9-6, 1-2 WAC) on Oct. 18 at College Park Center.