ST. GEORGE — Athletes at Utah Tech University are nearing the completion of their fall seasons.
Women’s volleyball, as well as women’s and men’s cross country, golf and soccer have been competing since August, and over a period of three weeks will compete in conference competitions to bring their autumn campaigns to a close.
Following are brief capsules, provided by Utah Tech Athletics, of the latest news from each team.
Volleyball
Utah Tech volleyball (10-8 overall, 4-5 in the Western Athletic Conference) took down the Seattle U Redhawks Saturday afternoon in four sets.
The Trailblazers ended the first set with four consecutive points. Taela Laufiso started it with a crisp setter dump. A Seattle U error was next before Laufiso dropped a service ace. To end the first set with a score of 25-18, Sunny Brown slammed down a kill.
Utah Tech started the second set with an 8-4 lead that they later pushed to a 17-12 lead before the Redhawks went on a 7-0 run to take a 19-17 lead. The Trailblazers went on to tie the set back up at 21-21. Whittnee Nihipali finished the set out for UT with a kill and then a solo block to give the Trailblazers the 25-22 win.
The third set was a point-for-point battle with the score being tied or within one until things were tied up at 11-11. Seattle U was the team to make the surge as they pushed out to an 18-13 lead over UT. The Trailblazers pushed but couldn’t catch up and Seattle U came away with the 25-19 third set win.
Utah Tech wasted no time getting a jump on Seattle U in the fourth set thanks to a 12-4 lead. Seattle U called a timeout to hopefully break up some of the Trailblazers’ momentum but Utah Tech never wavered. The fourth set ended with a big block by Kate Hardy and Laufiso to bring it to set point. Then to end the match Hardy was sharp with a big kill to put the fourth set score at 25-13.
Golf
Utah Tech men’s golf wrapped up the 2022 fall season with a 14th-place finish at the Pacific Visit Stockton Invitational, which was played Oct. 20-22 at the Stockton Country Club.
The Trailblazers opened with their low round of the fall, a 1-over 285 on Thursday to stand in 14th, and followed that with a 5-over 289 on their Friday loop to slip one spot to 15th. UT then closed the event with a 2-over 286 to move back to 14th at plus-8 860, which was the team’s lowest 54-hole score of the fall season.
Fellow WAC member Grand Canyon (273-277-280-830; -22) led wire-to-wire to claim the team crown, six shots ahead of runners-up UC Irvine (278-276-282-836; -16) and Washington State (277-281-278-836; -16).
Senior Davis Heslington and sophomore Taft Lewis paced the Blazers as the duo joined two other players tied for 22nd at minus-2 211. Heslington opened with a 1-under 71, then after a 4-over 75, carded Utah Tech’s low round of the event with a 5-under 66 to vault 36 spots up the leaderboard, which was the highest move up the board by any player in the 93-player field.
Meanwhile, the Trailblazer women finished up their season at The Clash at Boulder Creek, Nevada, hosted by Northern Arizona University, Sunday-Tuesday. Utah Tech placed 17th, shooting 319-316-296-931.
Freshman Jane Olson (74-83-75) paced the Trailblazers as she joined five others tied for 75th at plus-16 232, while fellow freshman Brooke Gelinas (80-82-73) and junior Grace Williams (77-82-76) tied for 85th at plus-19 235. Senior Abby Livingston (90-77-72) followed in t-88th at plus-23 239, and freshman Corinne Lillywhite (88-75-83) finished alone in 95th at plus-30 246.
Soccer
Utah Tech men’s soccer dropped a 2-0 road loss in a non-conference matchup with Incarnate Word on Saturday night.
The Trailblazers now have a 3-10-2 record on the season and have a 1-3-2 record in WAC play. The Blazers have scored nine goals this season and have two shutouts.
No Trailblazers were shown yellow cards in this match.
The Trailblazers will continue their road stint at Utah Valley on Friday and at California Baptist on Sunday. The team will return home for its season finale against UNLV on Nov. 4.
Utah Tech women’s soccer battled in a 1-0 loss to California Baptist Sunday afternoon in the last home game of the season.
California Baptist pressured the Trailblazers early with a shot on frame in the fifth minute but Kayla Thompson notched the save. It wasn’t until the 16th minute that Utah Tech got a shot off and it wasn’t until the 35th minute that the Trailblazers got a shot on frame. Hallystyn Kap was able to get a head off a corner but the Lancers came away with the save.
“All along, our goal for the season has been to be competitive in every game and we have the challenge of facing both top teams in the WAC when it matters most,” Coach Molly Rouse said. “We look forward to getting tested on the road and growing in our consistency during the hardest stretch of the season.”
Cross Country
The cross country teams hit the road for Nacogdoches, Texas, and the 2022 WAC Conference Championships on Saturday, Oct. 29. Hosted by Stephen F. Austin and contested at the Pecan Acres Park, this will be the Trailblazers’ first trip to Texas in the Division I era.
The Trailblazer women compete in the 6K race at 7 a.m. MT, while the Utah tech men line up for 8K race at 8 a.m. MT. Click here for race information.
The Trailblazer women were selected to finish in eighth place, while the men’s team was tabbed at 11th place in the WAC Cross Country Pre-Championships Coaches’ Poll released on Wednesday.
In 2021 the Trailblazer women were picked 8th and the men ninth when both teams ended up finishing in 5th place at the conference championship.