(USAFA, Colo. - Sept. 20, 2025) - The Trailblazers wrapped up the Into the Blue Invitational on Saturday afternoon defeating Air Force in four sets at the Cadet East Gym.
Utah Tech (9-3), earned wins in set one and two, 25-17 & 25-18, respectively, before Air Force (8-4) took set three, 25-22, with the Trailblazers closing out the match with a 25-21 win in the fourth set.
Notching her third straight 20-kill performance,
Kennedi Knudsen led the Trailblazers with 20 kills and finished with her fifth double-double of the season tallying 15 digs.
Nana Asiata posted a season-best 14 kills while setter
Marley Roe posted a season-high 30 assists.
Libero
Mya Laufiso notched a career-best 28 digs and
Taylor Snow led the way at the net with eight blocks.
How It Happened
The Trailblazers got out to a fast start in the opening set leading 10-1, but a 10-3 run for the Falcons brought Air Force back within a pair with UT leading 13-11.
A kill by
Emery Harrison halted AF's run and after a point for the Falcons, an 8-1 run for the Trailblazers extended their lead to 22-13 on an ace by Laufiso.
Kills by Asiata, Snow and Harrison closed out the eight-point set win.
An even start to the second start saw the Trailblazers led narrowly at 14-12 before a 4-0 run for UT extended their lead to 18-12.
Continuing to lead by four (19-15), a kill by
Sydney Reese started a 5-0 run to get the Trailblazers on the brink of set point with Asiata able to find some open space for a kill to close out the set.
Falling behind early in the third set, the Falcons pushed their lead to 20-15 before a 6-1 run for UT tied the set at 21.
A kill for AF and a Trailblazer attack error gave the Falcons a pair of points and after a Trailblazer block, the Falcons earned the final two points of the set to stave off a sweep.
The fourth set saw the Falcons race out to a 9-5 lead and hold a 15-14 advantage. The Trailblazers fought back into the set going on a 4-1 run to jump back ahead, 18-16.
Back-to-back kills by Knudsen and Asiata pushed UT's lead to 21-18 and after AF cut the Blazers' lead to 23-21, kills by Knudsen and Snow sealed the four-set win for UT.
Numbers To Know
- The Trailblazers led the Falcons in kills (57-50), service aces (5-4), blocks (13-8), digs (71-61) and hitting percentage (.210-.128).
- Utah Tech finishes 2-1 against Mountain West opponents this season.
- The Trailblazers finish non-conference action with a 9-3 mark. The nine wins are tied for the second-most wins after 12 matches along with 2009 & 2013 and only bested by the 2018 team that started 10-2.
Up Next
The Trailblazers open WAC play at Southern Utah (1-10) on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. at America First Event Center.
