TYLER, Texas -- UT Tyler provided an outstanding all-around performance while challenging division-leading UAFS (Arkansas-Fort Smith) on Saturday, splitting two nail-biting sets in the midst of a four-set defeat to the Lady Lions, 25-20, 25-27, 31-29, 25-17.

The Patriots produced their first 100-dig performance of the season, led by 21 digs each from Savannah Guzman and Taylor Stoops in a rematch of a three-set sweep by UAFS on the road three weeks earlier when the Lady Lions won by a combined score of 75-46. Kylee Becker was one of three players from UT Tyler with double-digit kills with a team-high 17 kills.

With the defeat, UT Tyler drops to 9-13 overall, 4-10 in Lone Star Conference play, and 2-6 within the six-team division. UAFS improves to 20-5 overall, 13-1 in the LSC, and 7-1 in the division.

How It Happened: There were at least a dozen tie scores in each of the first three sets, and the opening set was a signal of the competitive sets that followed. The largest run by either team in the first set was an early 5-0 burst from UAFS which gave the Lady Lions a 6-2 lead, but UT Tyler answered with four straight points later in the set from a pair of Kylee Becker kills and a block from Becker and Jayden Thompson to help the Patriots take a 10-8 lead. Another Becker kill gave UT Tyler its last lead of the set, 19-18, before UAFS reeled off five straight points, and seven of the next eight to close out a 25-20 win.

The second set featured 12 more ties and four lead changes, and UT Tyler held the largest lead of the set, a pair of 4-point margins at 14-10 and 15-11. UAFS tied the set behind a 7-3 run, and the Lady Lions fought off a set point at 24-23 with a Rachel Williams kill to extend the set. After the teams traded kills to push the score to 25-25, Hannah Callison notched a kill for a 26-25 lead, and the set ended on a Rachel Williams attack error.

UT Tyler held the biggest lead of the third set, taking a 6-point edge at 19-13, but UAFS scored 10 of the next 13 points to surge back into a 23-22 lead. After trading sideouts again, it was the Patriots who fought off set point behind a Hannah Callison kill to keep the set alive. The teams went back and forth, trading points for 14 consecutive sideouts, until Amanda Van Wyk finished off the set with a kill after a Rachel Williams solo block to deliver a 31-29 win for UAFS.

The Lady Lions jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the fourth set, which UT Tyler answered with a 6-3 run to pull within 12-9. That was the closest the Patriots got in the set, however, as UAFS went on another 9-3 run to take its largest lead of the set at 21-12 before finishing off a 25-17 win to clinch the match victory. The Patriots were limited to nine kills in the set, and UAFS recorded its highest attack percentage of any set in the match (.271).

By The Numbers: UT Tyler posted its first 100-dig match of the season, finishing with 102 digs as two players posted 21-dig performances and two more were in double figures with 19 (Kyana Alvarez) and 14 (Kylee Becker)... The Patriots registered nine team blocks for the second consecutive match, its sixth Lone Star Conference match with at least nine blocks this year… UAFS posted advantages in kills (70-56), aces (5-4), blocks (12-9), and digs (107-102)... The Lady Lions also produced a .212 team attack percentage while UT Tyler finished with a .153 attack percentage… The Patriots are now 2-3 in four-set matches this year.

UT Tyler Stat Leaders: Kylee Becker led three players with double-digit kills, recording a team-high 17 kills with 14 digs… Hannah Callison added 13 kills, and Christina Escamilla tallied 10 kills with a pair of blocks… Taylor Stoops and Gracie Sutherland combined for 46 assists, as Stoops collected 22 assists and a season-high 21 digs, while Sutherland had 24 assists with 7 digs… Savannah Guzman had 21 digs with 5 assists and an ace, recording her fifth 20-dig performance of the year… Kyana Alvarez added 19 digs and a pair of aces, while Maiya Peña led the Patriots' blocking efforts with a team-high 6 blocks to go with her 6 kills.

UAFS Stat Leaders: Anna Demmer registered match-highs of 27 kills and 30 digs with a .303 hitting percentage, and Rachel Williams added 17 kills for the Lady Lions. Demmer's effort led a quartet of players with double-digit digs to help UAFS register 107 digs as a team. Setter Amanda Van Wyk was one of them, finishing with 19 digs to go with 56 assists and 78 kills. Lexie Johnston notched a match-high 9 blocks, having a hand in all but 3 of her team's 12 blocks on the day.

What's Next: UT Tyler visits Eastern New Mexico and West Texas A&M next weekend before wrapping up the 2019 season with a two-match divisional rivalry set against A&M-Commerce (Nov. 15-16).