TYLER, Texas – UT Tyler learned a lot about life in the Lone Star Conference in its season-opening weekend, dropping a five-set match to Texas A&M-Kingsville Saturday afternoon after winning Friday night's conference opener.
 
The Patriots won the first and third sets and were four points away from a four-set win with the fourth set tied at 21-21, but Texas A&M-Kingsville evened the match with a 25-23 win.  The Javelinas parlayed that momentum into a 15-6 win in the fifth set to hand the Lone Star Conference newcomers their first conference setback.
 
UT Tyler was balanced and efficient offensively, posting advantages in kills and attack percentage over Texas A&M-Kingsville, but the Javelinas were strong in serving and defending with 11 aces and 91 digs in the five-set affair.
 
With the defeat, UT Tyler drops to 6-4 overall and 1-1 in Lone Star Conference play, while Texas A&M-Kingsville bounced back from a Friday night defeat at No. 21-ranked A&M-Commerce for a Lone Star Conference weekend split.  The Javelinas are now 9-4 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
 
How It Happened: In a back-and-forth opening set which had eight ties and four lead changes, UT Tyler turned an 18-17 deficit into a 25-23 set victory by scoring eight of the final 13 points of the set. Kylee Becker had four of her 12 kills in the opening set, including a kill to tie the set at 18-18 and another to finish off the 25-23 win. In the second set, Texas A&M-Kingsville used a 5-0 run to turn a 6-5 lead into 11-5, and the Javelinas led by at least four points the rest of the to pull away for a 25-18 win and tie the match at one set apiece.
 
In the third set, UT Tyler used an early 5-0 run to gain separation, as Taylor Stoops served a pair of aces that helped turn a 6-4 edge into an 11-4 margin.  The Patriots led by at least four points the rest of the way and closed out a 25-16 win with a 6-2 run.  UT Tyler led for most of the fourth set, as well, leading by as many as four points at 17-13 and maintaining the lead until Texas A&M-Kingsville tied the set at 20-20. The teams traded side outs, putting UT Tyler four points away from a victory with the score tied at 21-21, but the Javelinas scored three in a row for a 24-21 lead and answered back-to-back kills from Hannah Callison and Hattie Murray to survive with a 25-23 win to force a decisive fifth set.
 
In the fifth set, Texas A&M-Kingsville put together an impressive blocking performance, notching four blocks in its final 11 points of the match to help turn a 4-3 lead into the 15-6 final score. The Javelinas finished the match with a 9-2 run to seal the victory.
 
More Lone Star Firsts:
First 5-set match in Lone Star Conference play
First 10-block match: Hattie Murray
First 3-ace match: Taylor Stoops
 
By The Numbers: UT Tyler produced advantages offensively in kills (58-51) and attack percentage (.185 to .169), but Texas A&M-Kingsville finished with a 91-77 edge in digs… Both teams registered double-digit team blocks, with the Javelinas notching 10 blocks while the Patriots posted 12… Six different UT Tyler players recorded at least 7 kills, and four Patriots registered double-digit digs.
 
UT Tyler Stat Leaders: Kylee Becker finished with a team-high 12 kills for the second straight match… Hannah Callison and Hattie Murray recorded nine kills each, and Murray added a match-high 10 blocks as she had a hand in all but two of the Patriots' 12 team blocks… Savannah Guzman led UT Tyler in digs with 16, although three others were in double figures as Becker added 12 digs and setters Taylor Stoops and Savanna Sherman finished with 11 digs each… Stoops also had three of the team's seven service aces.
 
Texas A&M-Kingsville Stat Leaders: Melanie Casteel led a trio of Javelinas with double-digit kills, finishing with a match-high 14 kills to least Texas A&M-Kingsville… Nicole Murff and Meghan Merlino each served three aces, and Murff tallied a match-high 27 digs… Seven different Javelinas recorded a block, led by Talleyshia Morris and Tammy Jo Grohman with five blocks apiece.
 
What's Next: UT Tyler continues conference play next week with its first Lone Star Conference road trip. The Patriots visit Texas Woman's University on Friday, Sept. 27, and they will take on Midwestern State on Saturday, Sept. 28.