TYLER, TEXAS – #15 UT Tyler began the final regular season homestand of the 2021 campaign with a 3-1 (25-23, 19-25, 25-19, 25-19) victory over Texas Woman's on Friday night.
 
The Patriots were able to overcome a fast start from the Pioneers that saw Texas Woman's hold late leads in both the first and second sets before answering with convincing wins in the final two sets to move to 16-1 on the year. Junior Mikayla Ware powered the offensive effort for UT Tyler with 18 kills on the night while setter Callie Craus notched a double-double with 26 assists and 15 digs on the evening.
 
Texas Woman's led 23-21 to open the first set before four straight UT Tyler points coming out of a timeout for the Patriots flipped the script and opened up the 1-0 advantage for head coach Lyndsay Mashe's team with a 25-23 set one victory. The Pioneers continued to play well in set number two, totaling 26 kills and just five errors as a unit in the opening two sets.
 
Texas Woman's was able to capitalize on that efficient offensive approach in the second set, turning another late lead into a 25-19 victory to even the match up at 1-1. Ware willed the Patriot offense into motion in convincing third and fourth set wins, totaling five kills in the third and six kills in the fourth to keep UT Tyler atop the Lone Star Conference race with a league record of 12-1 on the year.
 
The Patriot defense also stepped up in 25-19 third and fourth set wins for UT Tyler, effectively shutting down the Pioneer offense, limiting Texas Woman's to just .171 and .088 hitting percentages in the final two sets. The Patriots posted a season-high 10 service aces in the match, and out-killed the Pioneers by a 58-to-45 margin despite the .309 hitting percentage for Texas Woman's through the first two sets.
 
That consistent offense for the Pioneers resulted in just five attacking errors as a unit, allowing the opportunity for them to open up advantages in both of the first two sets. Texas Woman's led 19-14 in the opening set before UT Tyler began to chip away at the deficit with a run of three straight points to narrow the margin to 19-17.
 
The Patriots continued a 6-1 run coming out of the 19-17 mark to even the match up at 20-20. Texas Woman's was two points away from a first set victory at the 23-21 mark before UT Tyler rattled off four unanswered points to escape with the 25-21 first set victory.
 
The Pioneers were successful in holding another late set advantage in the second frame, scoring four unanswered of their own to win the second set by a 25-19 margin.
 
The flow of the game completely flipped solely into the hands of UT Tyler in set number three despite just their second set loss on their home floor of the 2021 season. The Patriots opened up a 17-10 advantage and then closed out the set on an 8-2 run to secure the 25-19 set win of their own to lead 2-1 in the match.
 
That third set victory was powered by 18 kills from the Patriots in the frame alone, which came in just 37 attacks for a .324 hitting percentage for the set. UT Tyler kept that momentum going into set number four, adding their best defensive output of the night in the frame, containing a Pioneer offense that started out the match strong to just nine kills.
 
That defensive effort negated a 16-11 Pioneer lead in the set, allowing UT Tyler to close out the match on a nine-point run to win by a 3-1 total.
 
Sophomore Evelyn Torres (11) and senior Hannah Callison (10) both reached double-digits in kills in support of Ware, while Craus and fellow setter Taylor Stoops combined for 43 assists on the night. Libero Savannah Guzman chipped in 10 kills to the defensive effort.
 
Middle blocker Maiya Peña enjoyed a solid offensive night as well, putting down nine kills in 16 swings for an attack percentage at .500 for the match.
 
The Friday night victory for UT Tyler despite the slow start keeps the team in contention for the no. 1 seed in the 2021 LSC Postseason Tournament as UT Tyler, Angelo State and West Texas A&M finished the evening all with still just a single loss in Lone Star Conference play.
 
The UT Tyler volleyball program will recognize Callie Craus, Christina Escamilla and Loren Guerra ahead of tomorrow's match scheduled for a 1 p.m. start against DBU as part of the annual Senior Day celebration for the program.