DENTON, Texas – UT Tyler's first Lone Star Conference road trip began Friday night with a three-set defeat at Texas Woman's University, 25-23, 25-20, 25-15, and the Patriots will return to action Saturday afternoon at Midwestern State to complete its first road weekend in the conference.
 
Led by Kaitlyn Budisalovich's match-high 11 kills plus a 10-kill performance from Kyana Alvarez, UT Tyler tallied more kills (37-36) and digs (37-31) than its opponent in the three-set sweep, but the Patriots gave up eight service aces and only recorded three blocks.
 
With the loss, UT Tyler drops to 6-5 overall and 1-2 in Lone Star Conference play, while Texas Woman's University improves to 6-6 overall and 2-1 in the Lone Star.
 
How It Happened: There were five tied scores and three lead changes in a tightly-contested opening set, but the Pioneers emerged late from a 23-23 tie to secure the 25-23 win on a Patriot service error followed by a set-clinching ace. Budisalovich and Alvarez led UT Tyler back from a 20-16 deficit, recording back-to-back kills that sparked a five-point run that pushed the Patriots in front, 21-20. Hannah Callison's solo block tied the set at 23-23 before TWU closed out the set.
 
UT Tyler never led in the second set, falling behind 10-4 early on in the set before closing the gap to just two points (15-13) with a 9-5 run. TWU answered by scoring eight of the next 10 points to extend the lead to 23-15 before cruising to the 25-20 win.
 
In the third set, Budisalovich put away two early kills to help UT Tyler grab a 5-4 lead. However, TWU reeled off seven straight points and led by at least five points the rest of the way in a 25-15 third-set win.
 
Lone Star Firsts:
First solo block: Hannah Callison
 
By The Numbers: UT Tyler posted its highest hitting percentage of the match in the opening set (.281) while TWU's most efficient set was the third set (.367)… All 36 of TWU's kills were spread among six hitters, while UT Tyler had nine players who registered kills in the match.
 
UT Tyler Stat Leaders: Kaitlyn Budisalovich finished with a match-high 11 kills, and Kyana Alvarez added 10 kills with a .409 hitting percentage to go with 7 digs to lead the Patriots. Savnnah Guzman was the match digs leader with 16.
 
Texas Woman's University Stat Leaders: Elizabeth Ugbaja was the Pioneers' kill leader with eight kills, although four others notched at least six kills. Tabitha Spray recorded 11 of the Pioneers' 31 digs, and Maggie Pyles served a match-high three aces. Courtney Noel had a hand in all four of TWU's team blocks, notching a solo block with three block assists.
 
What's Next: UT Tyler concludes its first Lone Star Conference road weekend with a Saturday afternoon visit to Midwestern State in Wichita Falls.