TYLER, TEXAS – The University of Texas at Tyler edged out wins in the first two sets and then coasted to a fourth set win in a 3-1 (27-25, 25-23, 16-25, 25-15) victory over West Texas A&M in the Lone Star Conference opener for both sides on Friday night inside the Herrington Patriot Center.
 
That 25-15 fourth set win put an exclamation mark on the Patriots 17^th straight regular-season win dating by to the 2021 spring schedule. UT Tyler played their best when it counted in the opening two sets to secure narrow 27-25 and 25-23 set victories to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the match, and then negated a third set win by West Texas A&M in the fourth.
 
Senior Mikayla Ware was electric all night for the Patriots, notching 19 kills and 13 digs to record the double-double to help push UT Tyler to 5-0 on the year. The San Antonio, Texas native and 2021 Spring Lone Star Conference Newcomer of the Year did most of her damage early, notching 10 kills in the first set alone.
 
The first two sets were nearly identical in pace of play, as neither team was able to separate themselves by a wide margin. UT Tyler had set point three times on West Texas A&M in the first before finally notching the final point in the 27-25 win.
 
The largest point differential in that opening frame proved to be just three points, as West Texas A&M led by a 20-17 margin in the late stages of the opening frame. A UT Tyler timeout halted the Lady Buff momentum and allowed the Patriots to settle down and string together four straight points to flip the advantage back in their own favor.
 
Ware put the Patriots ahead with a kill to bring the score to 23-22, and then rattled off two more consecutive kills to keep the advantage in favor of UT Tyler. Consecutive kills from UT Tyler's Maiya Peña and Evelyn Torres for the 26^th and 27^th points finally ended the opening frame with the Patriots in front 27-25.
 
Set two was much of the same in the early portions as both sides traded points back in forth before another late four-point run for the Patriots pushed them ahead 22-20. Senior Hattie Murray made that run count with a kill to close out the set at a 25-23 final.
 
The third and fourth set could not have been any different than the opening two frames, as the third set belonged solely to West Texas A&M and the fourth to UT Tyler. The Patriot's fourth set performance to close out the victory was spurred by their defensive effort as they limited the Lady Buffs to just six kills after conceding double-digit kill totals to the Lady Buffs in each of the first three sets.
 
UT Tyler padded a 10-7 early lead into a 15-9 advantage and never looked back in set number four, closing out the match on an 8-3 run to move to 1-0 in Lone Star Conference play.
 
Senior Savannah Guzman led the way defensively for UT Tyler with 14 digs, while Ware, Torres, and setter Callie Craus all eclipsed 10 digs as well. Craus had 23 assists on the night to pair with her digs total for the double-double.
 
Sophomore Evelyn Torres joined Ware in double-digit kills with 10 on the night, and also added 12 digs of her own to serve as the third Patriot to record a double-double. Junior Christina Escamilla stayed efficient at the net for UT Tyler, hitting .400 in the match with eight kills in just 20 swings without committing a single attacking error.

UT Tyler hit .233 for the night, totaling 54 kills on their 150 swings.
 
The victory over West Texas A&M is the second in a row for the Patriots over the Lady Buffs after a 3-0 win inside the Herrington Patriot Center in the 2021 Spring LSC Volleyball Championships in March. The win is also the second for UT Tyler on the year over a team receiving votes in the 2021 AVCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll after the Patriots 3-1 win over Central Oklahoma at the Southeastern Classic to kick off the season.
 
Head coach Lyndsay Mashe's team will look for their 18^th straight regular season win tomorrow afternoon in a 1 p.m. match against Eastern New Mexico.