TYLER, TEXAS - #12 UT Tyler solidified their spot as one of the top squads in the Lone Star Conference this spring with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-13) win over #23 West Texas A&M to advance to the 2021 Spring Lone Star Conference Volleyball Championship semifinal round next Tuesday.
 
UT Tyler also earned the right to host the two semifinal matches on Tuesday night and the championship match on Wednesday night inside the Herrington Patriot Center as one of just two teams to enter next week's matches at 13-0. The victory over the Lady Buffs also stands as The University of Texas at Tyler's first Lone Star Conference postseason win across all sports as the Patriots were able to compete in this spring's postseason tournament after the NCAA made the decision to cancel all 2020 Division II Fall sports national tournament's last fall.
 
The Patriots made a statement to the rest of the Lone Star Conference that they possess much more as a unit than just a quality offensive attack, recording 82 digs as a team and limiting a traditionally strong West Texas A&M attack to a hitting percentage of just .085. The Patriots posted 15 more digs than the Lady Buffs in the match as Savannah Guzman notched 21 digs and Kylee Becker totaled 20 for the night.
 
UT Tyler was also active at the net throughout the match, posting a total of 12 blocks in the match to effectively shutdown the Lady Buffs. West Texas A&M was only able to manage 32 kills throughout the three sets as just a single Lady Buff reached double-digit kills, while UT Tyler had 43 kills for the night.
 
Becker recorded a double-double with 11 kills to go along with her 20 digs for the match, while Christina Escamilla hit a team-high .348 and finished with 10 kills.
 
A tightly contested first set established the tone for the match as the UT Tyler depth and consistent defensive effort wore down the Lady Buffs throughout the match after West Texas A&M advanced to this evening's match with a 3-1 win in last night's opening round against Texas A&M International. The Patriots scored five out of the final seven points to win the opening set by a 25-22 margin after the set featured nine ties and two lead changes throughout.
 
UT Tyler led by as many as five points in the late stages of set number two, before West Texas A&M came roaring back with a run of six straight points after trailing 21-16. That 22-21 lead was the fourth lead change of the second set prior to UT Tyler once again flipping the advantage and scoring four straight points to finish off with another 25-22 set victory.
 
Those four straight points to end the second set with a win after letting a five-point advantage briefly slip away proved to be the difference in the match as the Patriots left no doubt in the third set to record the squad's eighth sweep of the abbreviated spring schedule. UT Tyler opened the final set of the night with a 12-8 lead and never looked back, stringing together six straight points from that point and finished the set with five out of the six last points to complete the 3-0 quarterfinal win.

Taylor Stoops notched 13 assists and 11 digs to also record a double-double in the match. Callie Craus led the way with 22 assists for the team while Hattie Murray led the squad in the blocks category with five for the night.
 
All four of the top seeds from the four respective regular-season divisions advanced into next week's semifinal matches inside the Herrington Patriot Center. Angelo State will take on Texas A&M-Kingsville to kick-off the first of two semifinal matches on Tuesday evening beginning at 5 p.m. UT Tyler will square off with UAFS following the conclusion of that first match in the second semifinal match.
 
The winners of those two semifinal matches will advance to the championship match to determine who will be crowned Lone Star Conference Champions for the 2021 spring season on Wednesday night at 6 p.m.
 
More information regarding fan policies and ticket information for those matches will be announced shortly.