ST. GEORGE, Utah — Trekking to The Beehive State for the second time this season, the Chicago State women's volleyball team (0-5, 0-5 WAC) dropped its opening match to Dixie State (8-8, 7-8 WAC), 3-0. The Trailblazers won the three sets, 25-18, 26-24, 25-20.
"We struggled tonight," head coach Tanio Trifonov said. "We gave up way too many runs of points and too many free points without making them work for it."
The Cougars scored the match's first two points on a Berenice Almeyda kill followed by a Dixie State attack error. The two squads then dueled to a 9-9 tie in the first set, but the home-standing Trailblazers proceeded to unleash a 4-0 run punctuated by a Whittnee Nihipali service ace.
Yanlis Feliz smoked a kill to squash the run before six consecutive Dixie State points forced a Chicago State timeout. Almeyda tallied three more kills down the stretch, but the Trailblazers rolled, 25-18.
In a razor-thin second set, Dixie State jumped out to an 11-5 lead. But an effective attack, powered by Feliz and Mesalina Severino, inched the Cougars to a within a point, at 18-17, with Dixie State leading. After a Trailblazers point, Almeyda and Feliz notched back-to-back kills to force a 19-19 stalemate and a timeout.
The teams then traded points, marching to a 24-24 tie. As urgency crept in, Dixie State's Sydney Johnson and Megan Treanor launched kills to clinch a 26-24 set two win.
Chicago State kicked off the third set in command, leading 4-3. However, an efficient Dixie State group briskly asserted control, at one point earning four straight points en route to a 15-10 advantage. Severino, Andrea Calderon and Nailah Jones all tacked on kills during the next stretch, but Dixie State continued to respond, leading 21-15 and closing in on a sweep.
An attack error and a Paola Fragalle kill then brought Chicago State to within four. But the Trailblazers earned four of the final seven points to cap off a 25-20 set win, clinching the match.
Almeyda led Chicago State with 11 kills on a .500 hitting percentage, followed by Feliz and Severino, who each tallied 10. Severino also posted a gaudy .769 hitting percentage.
"Berenice and Mesalina put up All-American numbers, in terms of hitting percentage," Trifonov said. "They were able to be successful and put some balls away."
Calderon racked up a team-best 19 digs, with Maria Lopez Torres Tapia securing 14. Grace Zambrano dished out 32 assists to direct the offense.
Chicago State blocked six shots on the night, compared to Dixie State's four. However, the Cougars committed three more service errors and seven more attack errors.
"We have adjustments to make, but we have a shot," Trifonov said.
The Cougars and Trailblazers will battle again tomorrow at 1 p.m. CT. The match will be streamed live on the WAC Digital Network.
