The Dixie State University volleyball team started a little shaky in its match against Holy Names University Saturday but got the 3-0 win.
The Red Storm swept Holy Names 25-21, 25-18 and 25-17 in a delayed match due to miscommunication of the start time. The match was delayed three hours because Holy Names thought the match began at 7 p.m. instead of noon.
The Red Storm finished the game with 49 kills. Senior outside hitter Shannon Young led the team with 14 kills, junior right side hitter Nicole Koehler wasn’t far behind with nine, and junior outside hitter Maddie Rex added eight kills.
“I love that the middles are so loud because I have an open court for hitting,” said Young, a senior communication major from Whittier, Calif.
DSU fell behind early in the first game 4-0 but clawed back in the match with 11 tied scores and five lead changes. The Red Storm took the lead and the game after a timeout when the game was tied at 21 points.
“I’m just glad that we could pull it out in three (games),” said libero Haylee Wilkes, a sophomore English major from Salt Lake City. “Our players worked hard, and we got it done like we were supposed to. I was happy with it.”
The Red Storm also started slow in the second game and finally regained the lead to take the game.
“We got our passing together, we came together as a team, and we really worked hard on putting the first ball away in service even,” said Koehler, a junior communication major from Sandy. “We were really successful at that, and I think that is what helped us throughout the game today.”
DSU jumped out to an early lead in game three and never looked back.
The Red Storm had seven aces in the match, three of which were from sophomore setter Shelby Sorensen.
DSU also had 70 digs, a stat that it averages 18.52 per set, which is No. 12 in the nation for Division II schools.
DSU improved to 8-4 in the Pacific West Conference and 11-7 overall. HNU fell to 0-11 in conference and 0-21 overall.
Dixie State will travel to Hawaii for a three-game road trip to play Hawaii-Hilo University Oct. 24, Hawaii Pacific University Oct. 25, and Brigham Young University at Hawaii Oct. 26.
“Those are some pretty big games for us, especially since we had a rough week in California,” Young said. “So every single practice we need to really focus. We need to be unified and play our best games in Hawaii.”
