TYLER, TEXAS - #12 UT Tyler will play host to the final matches of the Spring 2021 Lone Star Conference Volleyball Championships on Tuesday and Wednesday night inside the Herrington Patriot Center.
 
The Patriots will take on UAFS at 7:30 on Tuesday night in the second of two semifinal matches scheduled for the evening, the first of which will pit Angelo State against Texas A&M-Kingsville at 5 p.m. The winner of those two matches will meet on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. for a championship match to claim the title of Spring 2021 Lone Star Conference Champions.
 
The week will present UT Tyler with the opportunity to claim UT Tyler's first Lone Star Conference Championship in any sport in the school's final year of the NCAA Division II transition period before potentially earning full-fledged member status in 2021-22.
 
A PART OF HISTORY
 
UT Tyler made the school's first Lone Star Conference postseason victory look easy last Wednesday night with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-13) sweep, handling traditional-power #23 West Texas A&M with ease to move to 13-0 in the abbreviated spring schedule. The sweep was the eighth of the season for the Patriots and made it 39 set wins in 45 attempts for UT Tyler on the year.
 
The style of victory was also a statement to the rest of the league as UT Tyler's well-documented stellar offense took a back seat to a relentless defensive effort for the Patriots. UT Tyler was able to essentially negate any consistent offensive attack for the Lady Buffs, holding West Texas A&M to a team-hitting percentage of just .085 for the night.
 
Savannah Guzman and Kylee Becker were sensational defensively for the Patriots all night long, totaling 21 and 20 digs to lead a Patriot squad that finished with 82 digs in just three sets played. The Patriots wore down the West Texas A&M hitters in the first and second set and then gave way to the traditional offensive prowess of a variety of weapons for the Patriots in a dominant 25-13 third set victory.
 
Becker finished with a double-double with 11 kills to add to her 20 digs, while Christina Escamilla hit a team high .348 and finished with 10 kills. The setter duo of Callie Craus and Taylor Stoops teamed up to captain the offense brilliantly with 35 combined assists while Stoops posted a double-double with 13 assists and 12 digs.
 
FOUR TITANS AT THE TOP
 
All four number one seeds from their respective regular season divisions advanced to the final four of the Spring 2021 Lone Star Conference Volleyball Championships and will battle it out inside the Herrington Patriot Center this week to see who will remain as the last remaining squad. UT Tyler and Texas A&M Kingsville dominated their divisions with perfect 12-0 regular season records, as UT Tyler eventually earned the right to host the semifinal and championship matches as the Javelinas lost eight sets while UT Tyler lost just six.
 
Angelo State and UAFS both lost a pair of regular season matches, but both each handled business in the quarterfinals last week to reach the semifinal round in Tyler. The four squads all ranked no. 1-4 in both hitting percentage and opponent hitting percentage on the year, making it quite clear that the league's best have clearly risen to the top, making for a trio of exciting matches inside the Herrington Patriot Center this week.
 
SCOUTING THE LIONS
 
UT Tyler will meet UAFS in the semifinal round on Tuesday night at 7:30, and will square off with a Lion team that lost just twice all year, both times in five sets to Midwestern State. UAFS was the only no. 1 seed not to sweep their quarterfinal match, needing five sets to beat UT Permian Basin last Wednesday night by a 3-2 final tally.
 
The Lions feature one of the best middle blockers in the Lone Star Conference in Hannah Holland, who ranks third in the LSC with a season hitting percentage of .341 and second in the LSC with an average of 1.20 blocks per set. Reagan Macha has led the Lions on the year with 154.0 total points, and ranks second in the LSC with an averaged of .47 service aces per set on the year.
 
Tuesday's meeting between UT Tyler and UAFS will be the third meeting all-time between the two programs. UAFS has gotten the better of the Patriots in both of those matches by 3-1 and 3-0 final scores, both of which meetings occurred in the 2019 season.