Women's Volleyball | 10/21/2026 2:00:00 PM

MATCHES #19 & 20
Who | Utah Tech (15-3, 8-0 Big Sky) vs. Idaho (11-9, 2-6 Big Sky) | at Eastern Washington (8-12, 2-6 Big Sky)
When | Thursday, Oct. 22 - 6 p.m. - PINK OUT | Saturday , Oct. 24 - 3 p.m. MT
Where | Burns Arena - St. George, Utah | Reese Court - Cheney, Wash.
Social Media | Instagram + Twitter (X) + #UtahTechBlazers

OPENING SERVE
Utah Tech splits action this week at home and on the road hosting Idaho on Thursday night and traveling to Eastern Washington on Saturday afternoon.

TRAILBLAZERS MATCH PROGRAM'S LONGEST WINNING STREAK IN THE NCAA ERA WINNING 12 STRAIGHT MATCHES 
The Trailblazers extended their winning streak to 12, the longest in program history in the NCAA era, winning  pair of matches in Montana last weekend.

The Trailblazers topped Montana State in five sets on Thursday night overcoming a first set loss, won set two & three, dropped set four and survived set five, 15-11 to top the Bobcats.

Two days later on Saturday against the Grizzlies, the Trailblazers swept Montana, 28-26, 25-17, 25-16.

SITTING ATOP THE BIG SKY
The Trailblazers sit alone at the top of the Big Sky with a perfect 8-0 mark in conference.

It is Utah Tech's best start to conference play in the Division I era and their best conference start since starting 8-0 in PacWest play in 2016.

Nine of the other 10 Big Sky teams already have three losses in conference play with Idaho State at 6-2 in second place behind the Trailblazers.

MOVING UP THE RPI
The Trailblazers moved up to No. 75 in the latest RPI rankings released on Monday (Oct. 19) as they are the highest ranked team in the Big Sky followed by Idaho State (101), Weber State (120), Northern Arizona (141), Montana State (155 & Northern Colorado (172).

All three opponents, Hawaii (29), Utah (33) & LMU (41), who have defeated the Trailblazers all rank in the top 45 in the RPI. 

The Trailblazers also have wins over non-conference opponents, Oregon State (154) & UC San Diego (193), in the top 200.

KNUDSEN & FRIED MAKE RETURN TO THE COURT
A pair of fifth-year seniors, Kennedi Knudsen & Casidy Fried, made their season debuts last weekend after being held out of the first 16 matches of the season.

Knudsen, the program's all-time leader in kills and a two-time All-WAC selection, led the Trailblazers with 20 kills in a five-set win over Montana State adding 10 digs while hitting .320. She added seven kills and six digs on Saturday against Montana.

Fried, a 2025 First Team All-WAC selection, earned Big Sky Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors after leading the Trailblazers in blocks in the pair of wins tallying six blocks against the Bobcats and added nine blocks, five kills & three digs in a sweep over the Grizzlies.

TRAILBLAZERS WINNERS OF 15 STRAIGHT & 19 OF LAST 20 IN BURNS ARENA
The Trailblazers have won 15 straight home matches after winning their first six contests this season and completed their first-ever perfect home record in program history in 2025 finishing 9-0.

UT has won 19 of their last 20 home matches dating back to Oct. 12, 2024 against California Baptist with their lone loss in that stretch coming in the 2024 regular season finale against UT Arlington.

KNUDSEN REACHES 1,000 CAREER KILLS
Already the program leader in kills, Knudsen reached the 1,000 career kill mark last Thursday against Montana State and now has 1,008 career kills.

Knudsen is also second in program history in attacks (2,715) & kill average (3.73) as well as being 11th in career digs (584).

GLANCE AT THE IDAHO VANDALS
Idaho is 11-9 on the season and is tied for eighth in the Big Sky with Eastern Washington with a 2-6 record in conference play. 

The Vandals, who were picked ninth in the Big Sky preseason poll, are 1-3 on the road with a win at California Baptist and conference wins at Eastern Washington & Portland State.

The Vandals went 6-22 overall in 2025 and finished ninth in the conference with a 3-13 mark.

Idaho leads the Big Sky in service aces (130), are second in service aces per set (1.63), third in assists (885) & fourth in kills (967).

Sophomore outside hitter Kiana Greer is third in the Big Sky in service aces (31), service aces per set (0.40), kills (266) & attacks (689).

Senior middle blocker Koen Makaula is sixth in the Big Sky in total blocks (76) and seventh in blocks per set (1.03).

GLANCE AT THE EASTERN WASHINGTON EAGLES
Eastern Washington is 8-12 overall on the season and tied for sixth in the Big Sky with Idaho with a 2-6 mark in Big Sky play.

The Eagles are 1-7 at home with a win over Weber State in their Big Sky opener and added a conference win at Montana.

EWU went 3-25 last season and finished 10th in the Big Sky with a 1-15 mark in the conference.

The Eagles lead the Big Sky & rank second in the nation in total blocks (210.5) and are second in the conference in blocks per set (2.70).

EWU is also third in the Big Sky in total digs (1,202) & attacks (2,731) and fourth in opposing hitting percentage (.168) & digs per set (15.41).

Senior outside hitter Kalista Lukovich leads the Big Sky in kills per set (4.35), kills (339) & is second in the nation in total attacks (1,031).

SERIES HISTORY VS. IDAHO & EASTERN WASHINGTON
This will be the second meeting between the Trailblazers and Vandals with Utah Tech leading the series, 1-0 after winning at home in four sets on Sept. 15, 2023.

It will be the first-ever meeting between the Trailblazers and Eagles.

The Vandals are the lone Big Sky opponent the Trailblazers don't visit while Eastern Washington is the lone conference opponent who doesn't visit St. George this season.

WHERE THE TRAILBLAZERS RANK IN BIG SKY/NCAA IN 2026
As a team, the Trailblazers lead the Big Sky in assists per set (12.35) & kills per set (13.57), rank second in attacks per set (37.54 - 11th in nation) & opponent hitting percentage (.161) and are third in digs per set (16.05 - 19th in nation) & hitting percentage (.232).

Shaylee Dahle is tied for first in the Big Sky in hitting percentage (.399) while Nana Asiata is seventh in the conference in kills per set (3.00).

Tessa Treanor is fourth in the league in service aces per set (0.38) & fifth in aces (25).

Mya Laufiso is seventh in the Big Sky in digs per set (3.93) and Annalyse Shimada is fourth in blocks per set (1.17).

SWEEPS ON SWEEPS
After notching 13 sweeps last season, tying for the second-most sweeps in a season in the NCAA era, the Trailblazers have tallied eight sweeps this season, including five in a row from Sept. 11 through Sept. 24.

UP NEXT
The Trailblazers are back home next week to wrap up October hosting Montana (6-13, 2-6 Big Sky) on Oct. 29 and Montana State (12-7, 5-3) on Oct. 30.