COMMERCE, TEXAS - #16 UT Tyler put together a statement 3-1 (25-23, 25-14, 19-25, 25-20) win over a Texas A&M-Commerce team ranked at no. 10 in the South Central Regional rankings on Saturday night in Commerce, Texas.
 
The Patriots hit .282 and totaled their second most kills (59) and most digs (95) in a match this season against a Lion team that entered the game winners of eight out of their last nine matches. Senior Mikayla Ware had 17 kills and 25 digs for a spectacular performance from the Patriot standout who hit .292 for the match.
 
The Patriots outkilled the Lions by a 59-to-45 margin and responded after a 25-19 third set loss with a controlled 25-20 victory in set number four to move to 18-1 overall and 14-1 in Lone Star Conference play. Head coach Lyndsay Mashe, who moved into the program's all-time leader in wins earlier this season, secured the 300^th win of her collegiate career as a head coach with the victory.
 
Coach Mashe enjoyed a balanced offensive effort in support of Ware on Saturday night with four different Patriots reaching the 10-kill mark. Senior Christina Escamilla hit .370 with 11 kills in 27 attacks while freshman Kacie Kimbrough and Hannah Callison recorded 11 and 10 kills respectively.
 
UT Tyler jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the match with 25-23 and 25-14 wins in the opening two frames. The Patriots closed out that first frame with a 5-2 run and then jumped out to a 19-9 lead in the second set for the 25-14 win.
 
The Lions responded down 2-0 with their best frame of the night in the third set, putting down 15 kills in route to a 25-19 victory. The Patriot defense then stepped up from then on for UT Tyler as four individuals scored double-digit digs including Ware and libero Savannah Guzman (21), who each eclipsed the 20-dig mark in the match.
 
Freshman Addison Evans added 14 digs and setter Callie Craus contributed 10 digs to post a double-double along with her 26 assists on the night. Fellow setter Taylor Stoops joined Craus with the double-double as well with 24 assists and 10 digs as both Patriots enjoyed quality outings from the setter position.
 
The Patriots answered the big third frame by Texas A&M-Commerce by scoring a 5-1 run to begin the fourth, and then never relinquished the lead from there on out. Texas A&M-Commerce narrowed the deficit to a single point at the 16-15 mark, but quickly fell behind once again thanks to a four-point run for the Patriots to effectively secure the 3-1 win.
 
 UT Tyler and Angelo State are now officially tied at the top of the LSC standings upon completion of the weekend's play across the league, but Angelo State will hold the tiebreaker with the Patriots with their head-to-head victory. West Texas A&M, who entered the weekend with just one loss in league play, but suffered two losses over the weekend to drop to 12-3 in conference play and into the fourth spot in the standings behind Lubbock Christian at 13-2.
 
The Patriots will make the long trip this week to Western New Mexico and UT Permian Basin for Thursday and Saturday matches to close out the 2021 regular season.