WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS – A trio of Patriots notched double-digit kill figures to negate UT Tyler's first dropped set since Sept. 17 in a 3-1 (25-18, 21-25, 25-16, 25-17) win over Midwestern State on Saturday afternoon.
 
A second set loss, the first dropped set for the squad in six matches, was truly the only negative for the Patriots on Saturday afternoon as they extended their regular season win streak to 23 straight matches and moved to 12-0 on the year. Mikayla Ware, Evelyn Torres and Maiya Peña all had 10 or more kills as UT Tyler hit .304 as a team and didn't allow the Mustangs to eclipse the 20-point mark in any of their three set wins.
 
Saturday's eighth straight conference win also marked head coach Lyndsay Mashe's 100^th win as head coach of the Patriots, extending her program record for career wins total. Junior Savannah Guzman also eclipsed an impressive feat in her career in the match, totaling the 1,000^th dig of her career.
 
UT Tyler is now the lone remaining undefeated team in Division II volleyball after Saturday's results across the Division II landscape, and sits atop the LSC standings with an 8-0 record. The Patriots are one of two remaining undefeated teams in conference play alongside Angelo State, who sits at 7-0 in league play.
 
The Patriots hit .400 as a team in the opening frame on Saturday afternoon, finishing the set with 16 kills on 40 swings with just two attack errors. Five of those kills came from Torres, who put down kills on five of her eight swings in the 25-18 win for the Patriots.
 
That dominant first set victory seemed improbable in the early stages, as Midwestern State hung tough and kept pace with the Patriot offense at the 16-16 mark. From there on it was all UT Tyler with Torres pacing the squad with three kills throughout the remainder of the set to spearhead a 9-3 Patriot run to close out the set.
 
Set number two saw Midwestern State fix their mistakes that took center stage in the end of the first set, and jumped on UT Tyler with a four-point run that pushed the Mustangs ahead 19-14. The Patriots narrowed the deficit to just two at the 21-19 mark, but had no answer for four kills by Midwestern State to finish out the set with the 25-21 victory.
 
The defeat in set number two was the first set back for UT Tyler since a third set loss back on Sept. 17 against West Texas A&M in their Lone Star Conference opener, and is just their fourth loss in a set this season.
 
The question of how the Patriots would respond to just their second set loss in Lone Star Conference play was evident quickly as UT Tyler padded a 10-5 advantage in set number three. Midwestern State could only manage to draw the deficit to a three-point margin from then on in the frame, as the Patriots offense found their form once again with 14 kills on 32 swings throughout the set.
 
The quick start was replicated in what would be the fourth and final set as UT Tyler made the third and fourth set wins look easy with 31 combined kills between the two sets. Midwestern State on the other hand managed just 16 combined kills in the final two frames after posting 15 in their second set win alone.
 
Ware was particularly impressive in the fourth and final set for the Patriots as she notched seven kills in 13 swings throughout the frame.
 
The fast start for the Patriots culminated in a 12-5 lead that was quickly narrowed down to 12-9 just a few points later by Midwestern State. Four straight kills by UT Tyler coming out of the 14-11 mark effectively ended the Mustang momentum for the match, and allowed the Patriots to secure the 25-17 fourth set win.
 
Torres hit .320 for the night with her 13 kills on 25 swings, while Peña was just as efficient at the net for coach Mashe, putting down 12 kills in 19 swings with just a single attacking error for a .579 attack percentage. Guzman led the way defensively with 17 digs while Ware posted her sixth double-double of the season with 17 kills and 15 digs.
 
Peña added four block assists to her stat line, finishing with 15.0 points scored in the match. Senior Hannah Callison also had a quality night for the Patriots with eight kills and six digs.
 
Setters Callie Craus and Taylor Stoops were efficient as always in operating the UT Tyler offense, finishing with 25 and 24 assists respectively. Craus nearly reached double-double territory with nine digs on the night.
 
The Patriots are set to return home after their second LSC road test this weekend, and will host their annual Dig Pink Game on Friday, Oct. 15^th inside the Herrington Patriot Center. That match will feature UT Tyler against Texas A&M-Kingsville, who is 11-2 on the year and 6-2 in LSC play.