Women's Volleyball | 9/1/2026 2:00:00 PM

OUTRIGGER INVITATIONAL
Who | Utah Tech (2-1) at Hawaii (1-2) | vs. UC San Diego (2-1) | vs. Loyola Marymount (3-0)
When | Thursday, Sept. 3 – 11 p.m. MT | Friday, Sept. 4 – 8 p.m. MT | Sunday, Sept. 6 - 6 p.m. MT
Where | Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center - Honolulu, Hawaii
Social Media | Instagram + Twitter (X) + #UtahTechBlazers

OPENING SERVE
Utah Tech is headed to the OUTRIGGER Invitational hosted by Hawaii on Thursday through Sunday at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

The Trailblazers take on the host Rainbow Wahine on Thursday night, face UC San Diego out of the Big West on Friday night and wrap up the tournament on Sunday night against WCC foe Loyola Marymount.

RETURN HOME FOR HAFOKA, THOMPSON, WATSON & ROE
Head coach Camilla Hafoka and assistant coach Shairone Thompson will return to the islands this week as the Hawaii natives each coached both in high school and collegiately on the islands.

Hafoka was the head coach at her alma mater, Kahuku High School, where she won a conference & OIA crown and placed third at the state tournament. She was named coach of the year at Kahuku High School and then returned to BYU Hawaii as an assistant coach.

Thompson was a volunteer assistant coach at BYU Hawaii from 2012-16 and was also an assistant coach at Kahuku High School.

Watson & Roe also make their way back to the islands as both went to high school at Kamehameha Kaplama High School where the two were teammates from 2020-22.

With Roe arriving at Utah Tech in 2023, Watson was an all-state honorable mention honoree as a senior in 2023 before arriving in St. George in 2024.

LOOK BACK AT OPENING WEEKEND
The Trailblazers got the 2026 season started last weekend at the Utah Valley Invitational winning their first two matches of the tournament downing Utah Valley in four sets and swept Oregon State on Friday before being swept by Utah on Saturday afternoon.

The 2-0 start to the season was the Trailblazers second 2-0 start to a season in the Division I era joining 2022.

It is the third straight season Utah Tech has started the season 2-1 & fourth time overall in the Division I era with a 2-1 start.

TREANOR & ASIATA NAMED UVU INVITE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Treanor tallied 20 kills over three matches leading the Trailblazers with seven service aces and added 20 digs along with three assists & three blocks.

Asiata led the Trailblazers in kills in all three matches totaling 16 kills against Utah Valley, 12 kills against Oregon State and nine kills in the tournament finale against Utah.

She added nine blocks, including matching her career high with six against Utah Valley, and six digs while hitting .221.

GLANCE AT THE HAWAII RAINBOW WAHINE
Hawaii is off to a 1-2 start to the season with a 3-1 win over Georgia Southern in the season opener at the Wahine Volleyball Classic while falling in five sets to Baylor and were swept by San Diego

Hawaii is coming off a 12-17 overall record in 2025 & tied for sixth in the Big West with an 8-10 record in their final season in the conference as they join the Mountain West this season.

The Rainbow Wahine were picked fifth in the MW preseason poll and sophomore outside hitter Cha'lel Reid was selected to the MW preseason team. Reid leads the team with 36 kills and junior setter Adrianna Arquette ranks third in the MW with 8.83 assists per set.

Head coach Joshua Walker is in his first season after being an assistant coach at Baylor from 2022-25.

GLANCE AT THE UC SAN DIEGO TRITONS
UC San Diego is 2-1 on the season with four-set wins over Saint Mary's & Gonzaga at the Gael Bear Classic and fell in four sets to host Cal.

The Tritons went 6-24 in 2025 finishing ninth in the Big West with a 4-14 mark and were picked eighth in the preseason Big West poll.

Junior opposite hitter Molly McCluskey was selected to the Big West preseason team and leads the team with 40 kills & seven service aces.

Head coach Spencer McLachlin is in his first season leading UC San Diego.

GLANCE AT THE LOYOLA MARYMOUNT LIONS
Loyola Marymount went a perfect 3-0 at the Ole Miss Invitational last weekend with sweeps over Northern Arizona & Southeastern Louisiana and closed out the tournament with a four-set win over Ole Miss.

LMU posted a 7-20 overall record in 2025 and tied for ninth in the WCC with San Francisco with a 5-13 mark.

The Lions were picked third in the WCC preseason poll while three student-athletes were tabbed to the WCC preseason team in sophomore outside hitter Anya Santrac, junior middle blocker Aleksandra Stojanovic & sophomore outside hitter Maria Tabacuks.

Tabacuks, who earned WCC Offensive Player of the Week honors, leads the WCC in kills per set (5.20) & total attacks (122). Junior setter Delfina Schuh tops the WCC and is fourth nationally with 12.20 assist per set.

Head coach Kolby O'Donnell is in his second season leading the Lions.

SERIES HISTORY VS. HAWAII, UC SAN DIEGO & LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
This will be the first-ever meeting against both Hawaii & Loyola Marymount while it will be the Trailblazers and Tritons third meeting after a pair of contests while Utah Tech was in Division II in 2013 & 2017.

The first meeting against UCSD came in the first round of the 2013 Division II National Tournament falling in four sets and second meeting came in a neutral site contest at Central Washington in 2017.

NEW YEAR, NEW CONFERENCE
On June 25, 2025, Utah Tech announced that it had accepted an invitation to join the Big Sky Conference beginning on July 1, 2026.

The Big Sky will have 11 members in 2026 as the Trailblazers will be joined by Southern Utah as new conference members this season.

Northern Colorado won the Big Sky tournament in 2025 while Northern Arizona claimed the regular season championship last season with a 13-3 mark.

The Trailblazers will play home and away against eight conference opponents while only hosting Idaho and only traveling to Eastern Washington.

TRAILBLAZERS PICKED SEVENTH IN BIG SKY PRESEASON POLL
The Trailblazers were selected seventh in the Big Sky Preseason Coaches' Poll released on Aug. 19 racking up 57 points and one first-place vote.

With the Trailblazers one of four teams to earn at least one first-place vote, Northern Colorado, the 2025 Big Sky tournament champion, was picked as the conference favorite earning 88 points.

Northern Arizona, who won the Big Sky regular season championship a season ago, was tabbed second with 85 points followed by a tie between Idaho State and Montana for third with 72 points apiece.

Weber State (69 pts.) and Montana State (61 pts.) followed in fifth and sixth, respectively, with the Trailblazers in seventh with 57 points. Portland State (43 pts.), Idaho (25 pts.), Eastern Washington (18 pts.) and Southern Utah (15 pts.) rounded out the poll.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE 2026 TRAILBLAZERS
Utah Tech returns four starters and nine total letter winners from last season's squad while welcoming six newcomers to the team in 2026.

Split between five seniors, seven juniors and three sophomores, the Trailblazers are led by the return of a trio of seniors in WAC All-Tournament selections setter Marley Roe, outside hitter Tessa Treanor and opposite hitter Nana Asiata.

Senior libero Mya Laufiso finished third in the WAC last season in digs (391) & enters her fourth season as a Trailblazer sixth in career digs (953) & 12th in service aces (64).

Returning juniors are opposite hitter Sydney Reese, libero Kaleinani Watson, middle blocker Lusia Langi and libero/defensive specialist Mahealani Ikei.

The final returner is WAC All-Freshman selection in setter Tehanie Waters, who tallied 381 assists.

The newcomers group is led by senior opposite hitter Addyson McArthur (Southern Utah), juniors in middle blockers Cass Klapp (Snow College) & Shayle Dahle (Salt Lake CC) and opposite hitter Mia Lundberg (San Diego Mesa College). Sophomore outside hitters Cale Torgerson (Eastern Arizona College) & Annalyse Shimada (Cedar HS, played on WBB team in 2025-26) round out the newcomers.

EXHIBITION MATCHES VS. UNLV & AT BYU
The Trailblazers took on a pair of opponents in exhibitions prior to the start of the regular season falling in five sets at home to UNLV on Aug. 15 and were swept at No. 24 BYU on Aug. 22.

Utah Tech won the first two sets against the Rebels while battled the Cougars tough in Provo.

TRAILBLAZERS WIN SEASON & ROAD OPENERS
Over its 21-year NCAA era, Utah Tech is 10-11 all-time in season-opening matches (H: 2-1; A: 3-4; N: 5-6).

The Trailblazers are 5-2 in season openers as a Division I member with wins on the road over Southern Utah (3-0) in the spring of 2021, at Northern Arizona (3-1) in 2022, won a five-set battle over Denver (3-2) at Weber State in 2024, swept CSU Bakersfield last season & defeated Utah Valley this season.

The Trailblazers are 4-3 in road openers in the Division I era winning their last two and are 10-11 overall in road openers in the NCAA era.

WHERE THE TRAILBLAZERS RANK IN BIG SKY/NCAA IN 2026
As a team, the Trailblazers lead the Big Sky in kills per set (13.00), are second in assists per set (11.90) & third in blocks per set (2.40).

Treanor ranks second in the Big Sky in aces per set (0.70) and Lusia Langi is second in blocks per set (1.60) & third in total blocks (16).

ON THE ROAD
Since joining the NCAA ranks in 2006, Utah Tech has recorded a 108-110 (.495) 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 & 2025).

Additionally, the Trailblazers have posted a 51-56 (.477) record in neutral-site contests.

The Trailblazers' six road wins last season were their most in the Division I era and were their most road wins since winning nine in 2018.

WINNING WAYS
Utah Tech posted a Division I high 21 wins in 2025, their third-most wins in the NCAA era, behind only 22 victories apiece in 2014 & 2018.

EARLY SEASON TOURNAMENT ACTION
Before getting Big Sky action started at Portland State on Sept. 24, the Trailblazers close out non-conference action at the UC Irvine Invitational next week before hosting UC Riverside & Chicago State on Sept. 18 & 19 in the Utah Tech Tournament.

COACHING STAFF
Camilla Hafoka (Oregon State, 2010; 65-63 overall record) is in her eighth season overall with the Trailblazer program, and her sixth season as head coach as Utah Tech is in its seventh NCAA Division I campaign.

She earned 2025 WAC Coach of the Year honors after leading the Trailblazers to a 21-6 overall record & a share of the WAC regular season title.

During her time on the Trailblazer sidelines, Coach Hafoka has helped lead the Trailblazers to a 92-78 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 2019.

In the Trailblazers' first season in Division I in the 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 third-year associate head coach Shairone Thompson along with assistant coach Whitnee Tupe who is in her second season on the the sideline in her third stint with the Trailblazers after stints from 2011-15 and 2019-23.

UP NEXT
The Trailblazers stay on the road next weekend for the UC Irvine Invitational taking on San Jose State on Sept. 11 and host UC Irvine on Sept. 12.