TYLER, TEXAS – The UT Tyler volleyball team leaned on a season-high .366 hitting percentage to sweep Texas Woman's University by a 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-21) margin on Friday night inside the Herrington Patriot Center.
 
The Patriots posted team hitting percentages of .387 and .519 in the opening two frames to secure 25-16 first and second set wins, and then closed out the match with another strong effort on the offensive end in the third and final frame to earn their fifth sweep in Lone Star Conference play. The .366 team hitting percentage for the match for UT Tyler stands as a season high for the squad, and the best output on the offensive end since a 3-0 win over Colorado Christian back on Aug. 26^th in the season opener.
 
Senior Mikayla Ware had 15 kills for the match and Dakota Rogers-Hurtado and Evelyn Torres both had nine kills to lead a Patriot offense that out-killed Texas Woman's by a 45-to-31 margin on the night. Torres put down nine kills in just 11 swings without an attacking error for a .818 hitting percentage while Rogers-Hurtado had her nine kills in just 14 swings for a .429 percentage to form an incredibly efficient duo for head coach Lyndsay Mashe.
 
The Patriots went on an 11-to-1 run midway through the opening frame to open a 22-12 advantage to start the match. UT Tyler closed out the 25-16 first set win thanks to 15 kills as a team with just three attacking errors.
 
UT Tyler managed to match that low error count in another 25-16 win in set number two, and upped their offensive output with 17 kills on just 27 swings for a .519 hitting percentage in the frame. The Patriots led 10-4 to start the set and then closed out the victory on a 7-to-1 run to jump ahead 2-0 in the match.
 
UT Tyler never trailed at any point in the final two frames, and continued their relentless offense into the third set in which they opened on a 7-2 run and never looked back. Texas Woman's closed the margin to just two points at the 21-19 and 22-20 marks, but had no answer for a Patriot offense that closed out the set victory with two kills from Ware.
 
The Patriots held the advantage in nearly every statistical metric, out-killing, out-digging and out-blocking the Pioneers in the no-doubt victory. UT Tyler totaled 42 digs on the night, and were led defensively by an outstanding output from libero Savannah Guzman, who totaled 10 digs for the match.
 
Sophomore Adeline Ortman and freshman Saige Rivera both manufactured the offense effectively with 23 and 17 assists respectively, while Ortman nearly reached double-double figures with eight digs.
 
The win moves UT Tyler's overall record to 13-7 and 6-3 in Lone Star Conference play. The Patriots have now won 20 out of their last 21 regular season home matches dating back to the 2019 season.
 
UT Tyler will stay at home for a 2 p.m. match tomorrow afternoon against Midwestern State.