ST. GEORGE, Utah — The Stanislaus State women's volleyball team opened the 2019 season by splitting a pair of matches at the Dixie State Tournament on Friday.
 
The Warriors rolled over the SFU Clan in five thrilling sets, 25-16, 19-25, 16-25, 25-19, 15-13 to begin the year. Then, in the evening's feature match, Stan State lost to host Dixie State in four, 20-25, 25-20, 19-25, 21-25.
 
STAR PERFORMERS
• Yisel Perez (Turlock/Pitman HS) had a great day to start the season. In two matches, she had 33 kills with a 3.67 kills per set average while hitting .297. Perez had 13 kills against SFU and 20 versus Dixie State.
 
• Jordon Wilson added 18 kills, but it was her blocking that made the biggest difference. Wilson had 12 total blocks (1.33 blocks per set) on the day.
 
• Setter Breanna Cannon had 50 assists in the win over Simon Fraser. It was the junior's fifth career 50-assist match. She had 39 in the second match.
 
• Macky Morris shared the team-lead with 13 kills in the opener to finish the day with 16.
 
• Mya Marshall spiked 13 kills on Friday.
 
WARRIOR DEBUTS
• Transfer libero Krista Hernandez posted 35 digs for a 3.89 digs per set average. She had 20 digs against Dixie State.
 
• Freshman outside hitter Cassie Corbett's Warrior debut was a success. She had nine kills in the first match and followed it with seven more.
 
• Transfer middle blocker Kiara Erving had five blocks in each match on the day.
 
TURNING POINTS
• Down 2-sets-to-1 against SFU after the Clan took sets two and three, the Warriors took control of set four early and rolled to leads of 12-4 and 14-5. Stan State rolled to the set four win to force the decisive fifth.
 
• Morris had five of her 13 kills in the fifth set to lead the Warriors over Simon Fraser.
 
QUOTING COACH GIBSON-ROSSI
"I am very proud of how our team played today. In the first match we showed a lot of heart and resilience. Even though we are still young, we also have a lot of experience and it helped us in pressure situations.
 
"Unfortunately, against Dixie State, we struggled to make adjustments. Despite the loss, we saw many promising improvements from last season and I'm excited for the direction we are heading."

BY THE WAY...
• The Warriors were missing three starters on Friday. Returning All-American Sierra Adams and defensive specialist Chelsey Berry are out with injuries and Rachel Klopfer was sidelined with a flu.

• Dixie State was a 22-6 team last season. The Trailblazers lost to Simon Fraser earlier on Friday.
 
UP NEXT
The Warriors complete their trip to Utah with a 11 a.m. match against Colorado Christian (1-1) on Saturday.