University of Texas at Tyler Athletics

SILVER CITY, N.M. - #13 UT Tyler posted their tenth sweep in Lone Star Conference play this season on Thursday night with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 27-25) win over Western New Mexico.
 
The win extends the Patriot win streak to three straight matches as the regular season winds down across the Lone Star Conference, but the dominance of UT Tyler (19-1, 15-1 LSC) in league play continued on to start out their weekend road trip. The Patriots hit .353, the second-best mark of the 2021 season for the team, and committed just eight attacking errors in 102 total attacks against the Mustangs (4-21, 3-13 LSC).

Freshman Kacie Kimbrough had the best night of her young Patriot career, leading the team with 15 kills on the night. Kimbrough hit .500 on the evening, putting down those 15 kills in just 22 swings.
 
The win assures UT Tyler at least a top two seed in the 2021 Lone Star Conference Volleyball Championships, earning the Patriots a first round bye as one of the top four seeds in the 12-team field. Angelo State and UT Tyler are in a race to the finish for the right to host the quarterfinal, semifinal and final matches on Nov. 18-20 as the top seed in the field.
 
Angelo State will compete in their two matches this weekend tomorrow night and Saturday afternoon while the Patriots will finish up the regular season on Saturday morning against UT Permian Basin. Both teams have just one loss in Lone Star Conference play, but Angelo State holds the first tie-breaking scenario over the Patriots after their 3-1 victory in the head-to-head match between the two sides back on Oct. 23 in San Angelo, Texas.
 
UT Tyler, who has appeared at no. 5 in both editions of the South Central Regional rankings, continued their case as one of the region's most dominant teams on Friday night against Western New Mexico.
 
The Patriots pulled away in the first set after trailing at the 17-15 mark thanks to a five-point run to lead 20-17. Both teams came out efficient on the offensive end, but the pressure ultimately proved to be too much for the Mustangs as the final four UT Tyler points of the set came by way of errors on Western New Mexico.
 
Set number two was all UT Tyler as the Patriots led 8-4 early and then ran the advantage up to 19-11 before cruising to the 25-17 victory. UT Tyler totaled 17 kills in the second set, needing just 31 swings to post that total for a .484 team hitting percentage in the frame.
 
The most exciting set of the night came in the third and final frame as neither team extended the scoring differential to greater than two points for the entirety of the set. A key point in the Patriot win proved to be a four-point run after trailing 21-19 that put the Patriots ahead going into the final stages of the frame.
 
Western New Mexico answered with two points, tying the score up at 23-23, and then continued to survive as both teams alternated points until UT Tyler finally strung together a pair to win 27-25.
 
Setters Callie Craus and Taylor Stoops both had 18 assists a piece as they continued to operate a UT Tyler offense that provided a balance attacking effort throughout the match. Kimbrough and Hannah Callison, who had 11 kills on just 15 swings for a .733 hitting percentage, were the lone two Patriots to eclipse 10 or more kills.
 
Senior Mikayla Ware had eight kills, and Christina Escamilla and Maiya Peña had six and four, respectively, to total the 44 on the night for UT Tyler. Libero Savannah Guzman led the team with 13 digs.
 
UT Tyler will finish up regular season play in 2021 on Saturday morning in Odessa, Texas against UT Permian Basin. First serve for that match is scheduled for an 11 a.m. start.