(St. George, Utah - Sept. 24, 2026) - The Trailblazers opened Big Sky play on Thursday night sweeping Portland State in Viking Pavilion to complete their fifth straight sweep.
Utah Tech (8-3, 1-0 Big Sky) took sets, 25-14, 25-23, 25-14 over Portland State (4-8, 0-1) while hitting .260 as a team.
Led by 13 kills from senior opposite hitter
Nana Asiata and eight kills from
Sydney Reese, the setting duo of
Tehanie Waters &
Marley Roe tallied 15 and 19 assists, respectively.
Four Trailblazers defensively tallied double digits in digs led by senior libero
Mya Laufiso with 14 digs and 13 apiece from Roe &
Tessa Treanor.
Asiata and
Annalyse Shimada tied for the team lead with four blocks apiece.
How It Happened
After an even 4-4 start in the opening set, five straight points for the Trailblazers pushed Utah Tech in front, 9-4 after a kill by Treanor.
The Vikings halted the Trailblazers run with a kill, but UT answered back with three straight kills, including a pair by
Cale Torgerson, to push their lead to 12-5.
A 5-3 run by the Trailblazers kept UT in front, 17-8 after a kill by
Shaylee Dahle.
Continuing to lead by double digits down the stretch of the opening set, a kill by Reese sealed a 25-14 set win.
The Trailblazers led 12-9 midway through the second set after three straight points, on a pair of kills & a service ace by Treanor, but the Vikings answered back with six straight points to pull ahead 15-12.
With PSU leading 17-13, the Trailblazers were able to keep the Vikings within arms length with three straight points on a pair of kills and an ace by Waters.
After ties at 19, 20 & 21, UT went up by a pair after a kill by Treanor & blocks by Torgerson & Dahle and the Trailblazers closed out the set with a pair of kills from Asiata.
The third set saw the Trailblazers lead 11-6 after an attack error & after a kill by the Vikings, four straight points by the Trailblazers pushed UT's lead to 15-7 after a kill by Asiata.
A 6-0 run, including five kills, by the Trailblazers extended their lead to 22-11 & three final kills by UT by Treanor, Torgerson & Reese sealed the sweep.
Numbers to Know
- The Trailblazers won their first-ever meeting against Portland State and the two teams will meet in St. George on Nov. 20.
- Utah Tech won its conference opener for a second straight season and improve to 4-3 in conference openers in Division I play.
- The Trailblazers led the Vikings in hitting percentage (.260-.094), kills (45-29), service aces (7-1), blocks (7-1), digs (67-60) & assists (41-27).
- It was the eighth time this season Asiata has led the Trailblazers in kills.
- It is the first time in the NCAA era the Trailblazers have swept five straight matches.
Up Next
The Trailblazers are back in action on Saturday afternoon at 2025 Big Sky regular season champion Northern Arizona (8-5, 1-0) at 2 p.m. MT.
