Women's Volleyball | 9/3/2025 12:00:00 PM

UTAH TECH TOURNAMENT
Who | Utah Tech (2-1) vs. Weber State (3-0) | vs. Charleston Southern (2-1) | vs. Sacramento State (0-3)
When | Thursday, Sept. 4 – 6 p.m. | Friday, Sept. 5 – 6 p.m. | Saturday, Sept. 6 - 2 p.m.
Where | Burns Arena - St. George, Utah
Social Media | Instagram + Twitter (X) + #UtahTechBlazers

Neutral Site Matches

• Friday, Sept. 5 - Charleston Southern vs. Weber State - 12 p.m.
• Saturday, Sept. 6 - Weber State vs. UC Riverside (1-2) - 11 a.m.

OPENING SERVE
The Trailblazers return home to host the Utah Tech Tournament this weekend taking on Weber State, Charleston Southern & Sacramento State at Burns Arena.

LOOK BACK AT THE REBEL CHALLENGE
Utah Tech is coming off going 2-1 at The Rebel Challenge on opening weekend sweeping both CSU Bakersfield & UNLV while falling in five sets to Iowa.

The Trailblazers hit .227 as a team in the tournament, out blocked their opponents, 29.5 to 22 and held a slim edge in service aces, 13-12.

Junior setter Marley Roe and redshirt sophomore opposite hitter Nana Asiata earned All-Tournament honors as Roe tallied a team-leading 55 assists and Asiata notched 17 kills and 10 blocks in the tournament.

ALL-TIME IN HOME OPENERS
Over its 19-year NCAA era, Utah Tech is 12-7 all-time in home openers with its last win coming in 2022 over Cal State Fullerton. The Trailblazers are 3-2 in home openers in the Division I era.

The Trailblazers improved to 9-11 in season openers with their sweep over CSU Bakersfield and are 4-2 in season openers in the Division I era.

KNUDSEN EARNS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Knudsen led the Trailblazers in kills in all three matches over the weekend at The Rebel Challenge totaling 40 kills with an average of 3.64 kills per set.

Totaling 15 kills in a hard-fought five-set loss to Iowa, she also tallied 14 kills & 11 kills, respectively, in wins over UNLV and CSU Bakersfield.

Knudsen notched a .171 hitting percentage adding 26 digs, seven assists, six blocks and two service aces in the tournament.

GLANCE AT THE WEBER STATE WILDCATS
Weber State enters the Utah Tech Tournament with a perfect 3-0 record with sweeps over Nevada and Southern Utah along with a four-set win over  UC Irvine.

Coming off a 14-16 overall mark in 2024, the Wildcats finished fourth in the Big Sky with a 10-6 mark and played Pacific in the first round of the NIVC Tournament.

Led by junior opposite hitter Rose Moore, who was named the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week, leads the Wildcats in kills per set (3.80) & six service aces while notching a .337 hitting percentage.

Junior middle blocker Brielle Rueckert leads the club in blocks (11.0) and added 11 kills.

GLANCE AT THE CHARLESTON SOUTHERN BUCCANEERS
Charleston Southern heads into this weekend with a 2-1 mark after opening the season with wins over Loyola Maryland (3-0) and The Citadel (3-1) while being swept by IU Indy. 

The Buccaneers are coming off a 7-20 mark in 2024 while finishing seventh in the Big South with a 4-10 record.

Seniors Emily Struckmeyer and Sophia Kluska lead Charleston Southern with 25 kills apiece while Struckmeyer tops CSU with nine blocks & Kluska is tied for third with 23 digs.

GLANCE AT THE SACRAMENTO STATE HORNETS    
Sacramento State is coming off a 21-12 overall mark in 2024 along with a berth in the NCAA Tournament after winning the Big Sky Tournament.

Getting off to a slow start to 2025, the Hornets were swept by both UTEP and UC Davis at the Sacramento State Invitational and fell in five sets to Pepperdine.

Sophomore outside hitter Victoria Marthaler leads the the Hornets with 35 kills averaging 3.18 per set.

Senior middle blocker Ashlynn Archer leads the Hornets with 11.0 blocks and is second on the team with 25 kills.

HOME COOKING
The Trailblazers finished 2024 with a 6-3 home record, its most home wins since also winning six in the spring 2021 season.

Utah Tech also recorded three home sweeps, its most in a season since notching five in the spring 2021 season.

TRAILBLAZERS PICKED THIRD IN WAC PRESEASON POLL
The Trailblazers were selected third in the WAC Preseason Coaches' Poll released on Aug. 22 racking up 25 points and one first-place vote.

Utah Valley earned the top spot with 34 points and five first-place votes while 2024 WAC regular season and tournament champion UT Arlington was picked second with 29 points and the final first-place vote.

The poll was rounded out by California Baptist (21 pts.) in fourth, Abilene Christian (17 pts.) in fifth, Tarleton State (12 pts.) in sixth and Southern Utah (9 pts.) in seventh.

KNUDSEN NAMED WAC PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Senior outside hitter Kennedi Knudsen was named the WAC Preseason Player of the Year on Aug. 22.

The Gunnison, Utah native is coming off a Utah Tech single season program record of 395 kills and her 3.99 kills per set last season is tied with Utah Valley's Sami Blackett for the highest among returners in the WAC.

Entering the season with 714 career kills as a Trailblazer, Knudsen is only 137 shy of becoming the program's all-time leader in the category and posted double-figure kills & led the Trailblazers in kills in 24 matches last season.

THAT'S A LOT BACK
The Trailblazers are the top WAC leading returners in kills (82.3, 1046/1271), service aces (90.3, 130/144), digs (91.2, 1329/1457) & blocks (84.3, 209.5/248.5) and return the third-most sets (76.4, 896/1173).

The only other WAC team to rank in the top three in all five categories is preseason WAC favorite Utah Valley while 2024 WAC regular season and tournament champion UT Arlington is in the bottom three in all five categories after many departures.

WHERE UTAH TECH RANKED IN THE WAC IN 2024
As a team, the Trailblazers ranked second in the WAC in opponent hitting percentage (.178 - 47th nationally) in 2024 while siting third in assists per set (11.85), blocks per set (2.51 - 39th nationally), digs per set (14.72), kills per set (12.84) and fourth in total blocks (248.5).

Individually, Casidy Fried was a stalwart at the net ranking second in the WAC in blocks per set (1.45) & fourth in total blocks (142.0), marks that ranked top 50 nationally in both categories.

Knudsen led or tied for the team lead in kills in 24 of 27 matches last season and ranked fourth in the conference in kills (395) and is fifth in kills per set (3.95). 

Mya Laufiso checked in sixth in the WAC in digs (365) and led the Blazers in digs in 18 matches.

TRAILBLAZERS RACK UP SEVEN TOP 10 MARKS IN 2024
As a team, Utah Tech notched seven top 10 single season marks tying for third in block assists (421) and racked up the fourth-most blocks in a season (244.5).

The Trailblazers also finished in the top 10 in assists per set (6th - 11.85), kills per set (6th - 12.84), hitting percentage (7th - .208), kills (7th - 1,271) & assists (8th - 1,173).

DOUBLE DIGIT WIN SEASONS
For the second time in the Trailblazers' five seasons in Division I, Utah Tech reached double digit wins with 15 victories in 2024.

It was Utah Tech's winningest season in the Division I era, surpassing the 11 wins the Blazers tallied in 2022.

SWEEPS ON SWEEPS
The Trailblazers notched nine sweeps in 2024, their most in a single season since posting 11 in 2018.

LOOK AT THE 2025 SCHEDULE
After opening the season this weekend in Las Vegas, the Trailblazers return home to host the Utah Tech Tournament on Sept. 4-6 before wrapping up non-conference action with the Boise State Invitational on Sept. 11-13 and Into the Blue Invitational hosted by Air Force on Sept. 19-20.

WAC play gets started on the road at Southern Utah on Sept. 25 before their first WAC home contest against California Baptist on Oct. 2.

Seeing all six WAC opponents both home and away, the Trailblazers will play one non-conference match at home against Northern Arizona on Oct. 28 and close out the regular season at home against UT Arlington on Nov. 15.

2025 WAC TOURNAMENT SET FOR ABILENE
Heading into their final season in the WAC, the Trailblazers will play in their second straight WAC Tournament hosted by Abilene Christian on Nov. 20-22 as they look to punch a ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

GOING "BIG" IN 2026
On June 25, 2025, Utah Tech announced that it had accepted an invitation to join the Big Sky Conference beginning on July 1, 2026.

A 10-member conference in 2025, the Big Sky will have 11 members in 2026 as the Trailblazers will be joined by Southern Utah as new conference members and Sacramento State will depart for the Big West. 

Northern Colorado won the regular season in 2024 while Sacramento State, who the Trailblazers host on Sept. 6, won the tournament title. The Trailblazers will also face Big Sky opponents Weber State, Idaho State & Northern Colorado this season.

2024 RECAP
Utah Tech made its first WAC Tournament appearance in 2024 after finishing fourth in the conference with a 9-7 mark and 15-12 overall. The Trailblazers went 6-3 at home, 5-1 at neutral site and 4-8 on the road.

Knudsen earned First Team All-WAC honors while middle blocker Lusia Langi was tabbed to the WAC All-Freshman Team.

COACHING STAFF
Camilla Hafoka (Oregon State, 2010; 44-57 overall record) is in her seventh season overall with the Trailblazer program, and her fifth season as head coach as Utah Tech is in its fifth NCAA Division I campaign.

During her time on the Trailblazer sidelines, Coach Hafoka has helped lead the Trailblazers to a 73-73 overall record. In her first season as an assistant coach, the program played to a 20-8 overall record in the program's final year of NCAA Division II competition.

In her first season at the helm in spring of 2021, Hafoka helped guide the team to a 9-8 overall mark in its debut NCAA Division I season, which included an 8-8 mark (T-4th) in its first season in the Western Athletic Conference.     

Hafoka is joined on the UT sideline by second-year associate head coach Shairone Thompson along with assistant coach Whitnee Tupe who returns to the sideline for her third stint with the Trailblazers after stints from 2011-15 and 2019-23.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE 2025 TRAILBLAZERS
Utah Tech returns seven starters and 12 total letter winners from last season's squad along with 2023 letter winner Sydney Reese (opposite hitter) and redshirt freshman defensive specialist/libero Mahealani Ikei.|

With the returners split between four seniors, three juniors, five sophomores along with a pair of newcomers in freshmen, Alyia Worthen and Tehanie Waters, the Trailblazers are led by four seniors in Kennedi Knudsen (OH), Taylor Snow (MB), Casidy Fried (MB) and Kaycee Bugas (DS/L).

The three juniors are Tessa Treanor (OH), Marley Roe (S) and Mya Laufiso (L/DS) while the six sophomores are Langi, Reese, Ireland Avalos (S), Emery Harrison (OH), Kaleinani Watson (L/DS) and Nana Asiata (OPP).

UP NEXT
The Trailblazers head back out on the road next week heading to the Boise State Invitational on Sept. 11-13 facing the host Broncos, Idaho State and San Francisco.