DENVER, COLO. – A historic season and postseason run came to an end for #22 UT Tyler volleyball on Friday night in the 2021 South Central Regional Tournament semifinal match against West Texas A&M by a final score of 3-1 (24-26, 25-19, 20-25, 23-25).
 
No. 7 seed West Texas A&M will advance to Saturday night's 2021 South Central Regional championship match against no. 1 seed and host MSU-Denver scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. (MST) start back inside the Auraria Event Center. The Patriots finish the year 20-4, and secured the program's first ever bid into the NCAA Division II National Tournament in the first season eligible for consideration into the field.
 
The no. 6 seed Patriots took down no. 3 seed Colorado Mesa in Thursday's quarterfinal match by a 3-1 final to stand as one of 32 remaining teams in the Division II National Tournament field. UT Tyler won 20 or more games for just the sixth time in program history, and finished the regular season in second place in the Lone Star Conference with a league mark of 15-2 in LSC play.
 
The Patriots statistically bettered the Lady Buffs in multiple categories, and featured a dynamic performance from standout Mikayla Ware, but were unable to overcome a West Texas A&M squad that will ride a seven-match winning streak into tomorrow night's championship match. Ware posted double-doubles in both matches in the South Central Regional for UT Tyler, including a 20-kill, 27-dig effort in the semifinal loss to West Texas A&M.
 
Ware hit .347 on the night and went 41 swings without committing a single attacking error to pace a Patriot offense that totaled 60 kills on the night. Her 27 digs on the defensive side of the net stands as a season high for the AVCA All-South Central Region First Team selection.
 
Those 60 kills for the Patriots bettered the Lady Buff's 52 kill total on the night. UT Tyler also out-blocked West Texas A&M by a 13-to-12 margin, but couldn't overcome a red-hot Lady Buff unit that captured the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament crown two weeks ago in San Angelo, Texas.
 
Sophomore Evelyn Torres also pieced together a quality night offensively for the Patriots with 17 kills on 53 swings. Torres and Ware combined to score 40.5 points for the Patriots on Friday night.
 
Setter Callie Craus recorded a double-double alongside Ware with a team-high 30 assists and 14 digs. Libero Savannah Guzman chipped in 20 digs to the defensive effort as well.