The Dixie State University women’s volleyball team is off to a successful start after it took 2 of 3 at the Fairfield Inn and Suites Invitational in Idaho on Aug. 24 and 25.
After taking a 2-3 loss against Biola University, the Trailblazers came back and won 3-2 against Northwest Nazarene University.
Middle blocker Malary Marshall, a senior CIT major from Hurricane, said: “I think our biggest strength is just being able to bounce back. We were down two sets against NNU, and we came back and won three in a row.”
Head coach Robyn Felder said she reminded her team to keep a positive energy going by telling the team to keep talking, start smiling and laughing, and have a “fake it till you make it” mentality.
“They just needed to be aware of their energy at all times,” Felder said. “When you’re down by a few points or get beat in a set, you tend to want to hang back and be negative or fall flat on your heels. And so when we can get the momentum going on our side, we play with such powerful energy. In those moments you really have to try hard to get the momentum back and the only way that’s going to happen is if you change the energy on the court.”
The Trailblazers were able to close out their tournament with a sweep of Cal State Monterey Bay and hold a 2-1 record on the season.
Marshall was named to the All-Tournament team along with right-side hitter and setter Megan Treanor, a sophomore general studies major from Salem. Treanor was also honored with the MVP award.
“Treanor is the new kid and new to our program, so for her to get MVP of all those talented teams and talented athletes just shows the future she has in this program,” Felder said. “She’s going to be a star.”
Treanor completed the tournament with 43 kills (14.3 kpm/3.31 kps), and Marshall finished with 32 kills (10.7 kpm/2.4 kps). The team walked away with 154 kills (51.3 kpm/11.8 kps) and 32.5 total blocks.
This is DSU volleyball’s first season in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, and Treanor said the team is feeling optimistic after this tournament.
“Teams know now that we’re not an easy team to beat and that we fight hard,” Treanor said. “Even if we’re down two sets, we’re going to come back and try to win.”
Marshall said this tournament has given them a lot of confidence going into the rest of the season.
The Traiblazers’ next match is away against South Dakota Mines on Sept. 7.
