TYLER, TEXAS – The University of Texas at Tyler volleyball team responded after a first set defeat with three straight set victories to find their form in a 3-1 (22-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-13) win over Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday afternoon.
 
UT Tyler found their footing offensively after struggling on Friday night in 25-20 and 25-13 third and fourth set victories, posting team hitting percentages of .326 and .268 in the frames. Seniors Mikayla Ware (15), Hannah Callison (12) and freshman Jeorgia Jones (10) all registered double-digit kills on an afternoon in which the UT Tyler offense totaled 55 kills.
 
The Patriots posted 32 of those kills in the third and fourth sets with 19 and 14 respectively, and posted a much-improved .201 team hitting percentage in the match. Ware and setter Adeline Ortman both reached double-digit figures for a second-straight match with Ware adding 21 digs to her 15 kills and Ortman posting 24 assists and 13 digs.
 
Texas A&M-Kingsville closed out a tight opening set with four straight points in a frame that saw the scoring differential never reach greater than four points after a 9-5 early Javelina lead. UT Tyler took the 22-21 advantage in the late stages of the set, but conceded the four straight points to fall 25-22.
 
The rest of the match was all UT Tyler as a six-point Patriot rally opened a 17-13 lead in set number two. It was UT Tyler who then played their best late in the set with a 6-1 run to close out the 25-19 win.
 
Another rally in the middle stages of the third set continued the tone for UT Tyler, as five straight kills from Callison made it 16-11 in favor of the Patriots. The Patriots continued to lean on that offense to jump back ahead 2-1 in the match with 19 kills in the frame and a .326 team hitting percentage.
 
Set number four was all Patriots once again, as UT Tyler built a 16-6 lead that allowed head coach Lyndsay Mashe's squad to cruise to a 25-13 victory in the frame and build some momentum at the midway point of their four-match home stretch.
 
The win moves UT Tyler to 12-7 on the year and 5-3 in Lone Star Conference play. Texas A&M-Kingsville falls to 11-8 and 3-3 in LSC play following the defeat.
 
Callison and Jones each provided some much-needed production on the offensive side of the net, as Callison put down 12 kills in just 25 swings for a .360 hitting percentage, and Jones a career-high 10 kills in her first extended action of the 2022 season.
 
Ortman teamed up with fellow setter Saige Rivera, who posted 20 assists, to manufacture the Patriot offense throughout the afternoon. Ware led the team with 21 digs, while Ortman and libero Savannah Guzman each registered 13 digs.
 
Sophomore Dakota Rogers-Hurtado captained a blocking effort at the net that out-blocked the Javelinas by an 11-to-5 margin on the afternoon with six total blocks. Fellow middle blocker Maiya Peña added five blocks alongside Rogers-Hurtado.
 
UT Tyler will play back-to-back home weekends for the only time in 2022 next weekend with matches on Friday at 5 p.m. against Texas Woman's and Saturday at 2 p.m. against Midwestern State.