TYLER, TEXAS - #15 UT Tyler finished off their regular season home finale on Saturday afternoon with a 3-0 (25-24, 25-20, 25-14) victory over DBU.
 
The Patriots ninth 3-0 sweep of the Lone Star Conference schedule and their 11^th sweep of the 2021 season was powered by an excellent defensive output for the entirety of the match. UT Tyler limited DBU to just 30 kills for the match and a .053 hitting percentage on the afternoon.
 
The Patriots forced the opposition into 23 errors and allowed double-digit kill totals in just a single set. Senior Hannah Callison paced the UT Tyler offense with 11 kills on 24 swings for a .333 hitting percentage for the match.
 
DBU's best offensive set of the afternoon and the only frame in which they were able to register double-digit kills against the Patriots forced the opening set into extra points. UT Tyler gained control early with a 5-2 lead, but allowed DBU to work their way back into the set and eventually jump ahead with a 17-12 lead.
 
UT Tyler responded with five straight points to get back into the set and tied up the point total at 17-17. Both teams traded back and forth before a four-point run for UT Tyler pushed the Patriots ahead 23-21. DBU responded with two points of their own to once again tie it up at 23-23, and then survived a 24-23 UT Tyler set point to force the Patriots into earning a 26^th point in the set.
 
That turn of events in UT Tyler's favor at the end of the opening set essentially set the stage for what was to come for the match. DBU struggled from then on to find an answer to a Patriot defense that was led by the trio of Savannah Guzman, Mikayla Ware and Taylor Stoops.
 
All three of those individuals notched double-digit dig totals as UT Tyler had 71 digs for the match, their second highest dig total in a three set match this season. Guzman led the way with 22, while Ware and Stoops posted 12 and 11, respectively.
 
The control on their end of the court allowed the Patriot offense to slowly settle in throughout the final two sets. UT Tyler opened up set two with a 17-9 advantage and never looked back, and then blitzed DBU in the third and final set with a 14-6 lead that eventually reached double digits at the 17-7 mark of the frame.
 
The Patriots put down kills on 18 of their 25 kills in the third set, posting a team hitting percentage of .548 with just a single attacking error in those 25 swings.
 
Ware had nine kills to just narrowly miss out on a double-double, while Stoops matched fellow setter Callie Craus with 18 assists to notch her third double-double of the season. Senior Christina Escamilla returned to form on Saturday afternoon after being recognized pregame alongside Craus and Loren Guerra as part of the program's Senior Day celebration.
 
Escamilla put down kills in seven of her 17 swings without a single attacking error for a .412 hitting percentage.
 
UT Tyler will have three matches remaining on the 2021 schedule, and find themselves in a continued race for the no. 1 overall seed heading into the 2021 LSC Postseason Tournament. The Patriots, Angelo State and West Texas A&M all have just one loss in conference play, with the Rambelles and Lady Buffs scheduled to meet next Saturday in San Angelo.
 
UT Tyler will take on Texas A&M-Commerce that same evening at 6 p.m. in their lone match scheduled for the week. The 2021 regular season will then wrap up the following week on Nov. 11 and 13 at Western New Mexico and UT Permian Basin.