TYLER, TEXAS - #19 UT Tyler will look to extend it's program record 20-straight regular season wins and move to 10-0 on the year in matches this weekend inside the Herrington Patriot Center against Oklahoma Christian and UAFS.
 
 The contests are scheduled for a 6 p.m. start on Friday night against Oklahoma Christian and a 1 p.m. start on Saturday afternoon against UAFS in what will be the second Lone Star Conference homestand of the year for the Patriots. UT Tyler is one of five remaining undefeated teams in Division II volleyball on the year and enters this weekend in a four-way tie atop the LSC standings alongside #3 Angelo State, Lubbock Christian and Texas A&M-Kingsville.

Saturday's match will also serve as the annual Youth Game for the UT Tyler volleyball team. Free admission will be offered to all club youth teams that arrive to Saturday's match in their club volleyball shirt, along with two guests.
 
ON A ROLL
 
UT Tyler cruised through it's first Lone Star Conference road trip of the year last weekend with 3-0 wins over St. Mary's and St. Edward's on Friday and Saturday night. The two victories were the second and third straight 3-0 sweeps for the Patriots dating back to a 3-0 win over Eastern New Mexico in their last home match back on Sept. 18.
 
Friday's win over St. Edward's was particularly special for the program, as the squad broke the school record for most consecutive regular season wins in a row with their 19^th straight victory and made head coach Lyndsay Mashe the school's all-time leader in career wins with her 95^th career victory. Senior Mikayla Ware led comeback efforts in both the first and third sets in the win over the Rattlers, notching the first of two double-doubles on the weekend for the San Antonio, Texas native with 18 kills and 11 digs.
 
Saturday's match proved to be much cleaner for the Patriots in the win over St. Edward's, as the UT Tyler defense forced the Hilltoppers into 30 attacking errors and a team hitting percentage of just .000 for the match. Junior Savannah Guzman had a team high 14 digs in the effort and was a vital contributor to decisive wins for the Patriots in both the first and second sets.
 
UT Tyler had to grind to finish off the weekend a perfect 6-0 in sets, notching a 26-24 win in the third and final set of the weekend.
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK ACCOLADES
 
Mikayla Ware was simply outstanding in both wins over the weekend for UT Tyler, leading to a Lone Star Conference Player of the Week accolade for the San Antonio, Texas native. Ware had double-doubles in both matches, and has now been selected as an LSC Player of the Week three times in her career.
 
The 2021 Spring Lone Star Conference Newcomer of the Year was named the league's Defensive Player of the Week on two different occasions last spring, and has continued to elevate her offensive game throughout the early stages of the 2021 season. Ware averaged 4.67 kills per set last weekend with 18 kills and 11 digs in Friday's win over St. Mary's and 10 kills and 13 digs in the victory over St. Edward's on Saturday.
 
Ware ranks second in the Lone Star Conference and 26^th in all of Division II volleyball with an average of 3.93 kills per set and 11^th in the LSC with an average of 4.26 digs per set. She leads all Patriots with 106 kills for the year and ranks second on the team with 115 digs.
 
JUMPING UP THE RANKINGS
 
The 8-0 start, 20-straight regular season winning streak and three consecutive 3-0 sweeps of Lone Star Conference foes allowed UT Tyler to make their largest jump to date in the latest AVCA Division II Coaches Top 25 Poll this week. The Patriots moved up four spots to no. 19 in the week four poll, their highest ranking in the national poll this season.
 
UT Tyler and Angelo State stayed as the only Lone Star Conference schools to receive a ranking, as Angelo State slipped back a spot to no. 3, while Texas A&M-Kingsville and West Texas A&M continued to receive votes in the poll as well.
 
TOP MARKS IN THE COUNTRY
 
UT Tyler continues to stand as an elite offensive unit through eight games in 2021, and stayed at the top of the statistical rankings in a few categories this week. The Patriots ranks first in all of Division II volleyball with an average of 15.37 kills per set and 14.89 assists per set as a team.
 
Junior Christina Escamilla ranks second in the country with an attack percentage of .470 this season.
 
The defensive showcase the Patriots put on in the two matches over the weekend also jumped the program up the leaderboard in a host of defensive categories, as they now rank 10^th in the country in digs per set with an average of 18.74. Guzman ranks 48^th in Division II volleyball with an average of 4.96 digs per set.
 
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
 
Oklahoma Christian is in it's second season of competition after restarting the program prior to the 2020 season, and the first year under head coach Jason Skoch. The Eagles are 5-7 on the year and split their most recent weekend of LSC play with a 3-1 win over Texas Woman's last Friday and a 3-2 loss against DBU on Saturday.
 
Skoch is in his 16^th season as head coach of a Division II volleyball program, and has amassed a 437-121 prior to his arrival at Oklahoma Christian this fall.
 
Freshman Morgan Demuth ranks second in the Lone Star Conference with an attack percentage of .392 in 2021, and has totaled 96 kills on the year. Sophomore Caitlynne Hudgens leads the team with 109 kills on the year.
 
The Eagles ranks third in the Lone Star Conference as a unit with an average of 18.30 digs per set. Friday's meeting will be the first ever meeting between the two teams.
 
SCOUTING THE LIONS
 
UAFS enters the weekend with a 6-6 record on the year after going 11-3 in the 2021 spring season, advancing all the way to the 2021 Spring LSC Volleyball Championships semifinal match. That match took place inside the Herrington Patriot Center back on Mar. 30, in the most recent meeting between the two programs, that ended with a 3-0 UT Tyler victory.
 
The Lions rebounded from an 0-3 start to Lone Star Conference play with a 3-0 victory over Texas Woman's in their most recent match last Saturday. UAFS has struggled offensively thus far, ranking 15^th in the LSC with an average of 11.24 kills per set, but will once again impose a strong defensive lineup having totaled the second most blocks in the LSC this year.
 
Head coach Jane Sargent has been the only head coach of the program and enters her 23^rd season as head coach of the Lions
 
Hannah Holland ranks fifth in the LSC with an attack percentage of .335 and is part of an impressive blocking duo alongside Chyra Thompson. That duo ranks second and third in the LSC respectively with an average of 1.09 1.00 blocks per set.