TYLER, TEXAS – The University of Texas at Tyler volleyball team will begin Lone Star Conference play this weekend inside the Herrington Patriot Center with matches on Friday night against West Texas A&M at 6 p.m. and Saturday afternoon against Eastern New Mexico at 1 p.m.
 
UT Tyler won all 12 Lone Star Conference games during their 2021 spring schedule and will look to continue that winning streak as well as a 16-match regular season winning streak in this weekend's duo of games. Friday and Saturday will mark the first weekend of LSC volleyball across the conference, as each program will begin their 17-match league schedule.
 
Friday night will also serve as a combination of the team's annual Blue Out Night as well as Dean of Students Night. The Dean of Students office will be sponsoring a pre-match tailgate outside of the Herrington Patriot Center and will be giving away free rally towels and t-shirts to the first 100 students in attendance of Friday's match.
 
BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAM
 
The Patriots were unable to compete at last weekend's 2021 Dakota's Patriot Classic inside the Herrington Patriot Center due to COVID-19 protocols, joining a host of volleyball teams across the league and region that were unable to compete. Head coach Lyndsay Mashe's squad took the disappointing news in stride and have worked to get healthy as a team and ready for their LSC openers this weekend.
 
That effort has paid off as the team was cleared to play earlier in the week and will now get their focus back onto the court.
 
UT Tyler enters this weekend with a 4-0 record after sweeping through the Southeastern Classic on opening weekend with an unblemished record. The Patriots have remained in the AVCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll in each of the three editions of the poll in 2021, and currently sit in a tie for 25^th place in the rankings.
 
TIME TO STEP UP
 
The Patriots received the clearance they were hoping for early this week to return to their regular schedule of practices and games, but will be missing a few key pieces to the lineup this weekend due to COVID-19 protocols. The depth and talent of the roster should be showcased in full-force this weekend as a few new faces will be asked to step into unfamiliar roles and a few familiar faces will be asked to slide over into some new positions to help fill the gaps.
 
One familiar face that will be back in the lineup for the first time in 2021 for UT Tyler will be returning All-Lone Star Conference selection Hattie Murray, who missed the opening weekend of action at the Southeastern Classic. The return of Murray will bolster the middle of the court for the Patriots, and will add a proven leader to the court in her senior season here at UT Tyler.
 
ALOT OF FIREPOWER
Coach Mashe will still have a bevy of proven talent on the court for Friday and Saturday's matches as the Patriots enter conference play ranked atop the Lone Star Conference with an attack percentage of .257 and an average of 16.43 kills per set. Junior Christian Escamilla sits atop the LSC in attack percentage with a .496 mark for the year, and put down 64 kills in just four matches at the Southeastern Classic.
 
Outside hitters Mikayla Ware and Evelyn Torres both rank within the top 15 of the LSC through four matches in kills per set, as Ware is averaging 3.64 per set and Torres 3.14 per set.
 
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
 
It has been no secret in 2021 that the experience and talent of the Patriots would be no surprise across the Lone Star Conference, and an offense that figured to be one of the LSC's best has already proven it's strength through the non-conference slate of games. However, the unsung hero and often times overlooked component of the Patriot's success has been the outstanding defensive play by the combination of Ware and libero Savannah Guzman.
 
Guzman was recognized for her outstanding play after the Southeastern Classic with an LSC Defensive Player of the Week nod, but has truly taken her game to the next level during the later stretches of the spring schedule and the early stages of the fall schedule. She totaled a team high 80 digs through the first four wins of the 2021 season for UT Tyler and leads the LSC with an average of 5.71 digs per set.
 
Ware has been impressive defensively as well in 2021, ranking second on the team in both kills (51) and in digs (69). The return of Murray alongside fellow middle blocker Maiya Peña will only help UT Tyler this weekend on the defensive side of the net.
 
A STOUT TEST
 
The Patriots will need to get back to game speed quickly on Friday evening, as their opening LSC match will pit coach Mashe's squad against a traditional LSC power that has flexed their talent early in 2021. West Texas A&M enters the LSC schedule with a 6-1 record on Friday night, their only blemish coming in their latest match on Sept. 11 in a 3-0 loss against current no. 1 ranked Nebraska-Kearney on their home court.
 
Prior to that defeat, the Lady Buffs won three of their opening six wins by way of a 3-0 sweep and the other three by a 3-1 margin. West Texas A&M returned a load of talent, similar to the Patriots, in 2021 and will be looking to get off on the right foot in their LSC opener this weekend.
 
HISTORY WITH THE BUFFS
 
UT Tyler secured the program's first ever win against West Texas A&M this spring with a 3-0 sweep of the Lady Buffs to begin the Patriot's run to the 2021 Spring LSC Championships final match. That quarterfinal win came in just the second meeting between the two teams back on Mar. 24, as West Texas A&M got the better of UT Tyler in the inaugural meeting between the programs on Nov. 9, 2019 with a 3-0 victory.
 
SCOUTING THE LADY BUFFS
 
The Lady Buffs have been as good as they come defensively in 2021, and have limited their opposition to just a .086 team attack percentage through their seven non-conference games. West Texas A&M averages 2.52 blocks per set, and also leads the LSC with an average of 2.09 service aces per set in 2021.
 
Torrey Miller has returned to the lineup in 2021 to highlight the Lady Buffs offense, and ranks fourth in the league with an average of 3.88 kills per set. Miller alongside fellow outside Ashlyn Vinyard and libero Chandler Vogel were all named to the UNK Fall Classic All-Tournament team earlier this week.
 
Head coach Kendra Potts is in her third season as head coach of the program, and has worked the program to a 39-12 record under her guidance.
 
SCOUTING AND HISTORY WITH THE GREYHOUNDS
 
Eastern New Mexico will present a totally different level of talent and familiarity for coach Mashe's squad. The Greyhounds were unable to compete in the 2021 spring schedule of games due to the health order of the state of New Mexico, and were selected to finish in 18^th in the 2021 LSC Preseason Volleyball Poll.
 
Head coach Sia Poyer enters his eighth seasons at the helm of the Greyhounds and has been tasked with the difficult process of reacclimating his team to game speed in the early stages of 2021. The Greyhounds are 0-7 thus far in 2021, and will open their LSC schedule on Friday night against Texas A&M-Commerce.
 
UT Tyler came back to win the first and only meeting with Eastern New Mexico back on Nov. 8, 2019 in the Patriot's first season competing against LSC competition. The Patriots won the last three sets of that match to negate a 2-0 early lead for the Greyhounds in Portales.