CANYON, TEXAS – No. 4 seed UT Tyler survived an all-time classic in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Lone Star Conference Volleyball Championship with a 3-2 (25-20, 25-21, 16-25, 22-25, 17-15) win over no. 5 Texas A&M-Kingsville on Thursday night in Canyon, Texas.
 
The Patriots saw a 2-0 lead in the match spiral away with spirited victories by Texas A&M-Kingsville in the third and fourth sets, and then found a way to advance to tomorrow's semifinal match in extra points in the deciding fifth set with a 17-15 win. Senior Mikayla Ware had 22 kills and 20 digs and libero Savannah Guzman totaled 25 digs to secure what may have been the win of the season for the Patriots with selection into the NCAA Division II Volleyball National Tournament hanging in the balance.
 
UT Tyler will meet the winner of the no. 8 seed Angelo State versus no. 1 seed West Texas A&M quarterfinal match in tomorrow night's second semifinal match at 7:30 p.m.
 
UT Tyler entered the night ranked no. 7 in the final edition of the NCAA South Central Regional Rankings released prior to selection of the South Central Regional Tournament field scheduled for Sunday evening. Texas A&M-Kingsville sat no. 9 in those rankings on the outside looking in to the eight spots available in the regional tournament field.
 
The Patriots pulled away in the first and second sets with timely runs, and looked to have the match under control before Texas A&M-Kingsville exploded for a 13-5 run to start the third set, and then an ensuing 25-22 victory in the fourth set to force a deciding fifth set. UT Tyler had match point twice in the waning moments of the match at the 14-12 and 15-14 marks of the fifth set, but were finally able to secure the 3-2 victory with two straight points to win 17-15 in the frame.
 
UT Tyler had to overcome 31 attacking errors as a team thanks in large part to a historic effort from Ware and 12 kills from both Evelyn Torres and Jeorgia Jones. Ware broke the UT Tyler volleyball record for kills in a single season, eclipsing Danika Waldrep's previous mark of 444 kills in the fourth set.
 
The Patriots used a 6-1 run late in the first set to get the match started out on the right foot, forcing set point coming out of the 18-17 mark following the string of points. Torres put down kills in six out of her first seven swings, leading UT Tyler to 17 kills in the opening frame.
 
Set two was nearly a mirror image of that first frame, as UT Tyler put down 19 kills in 43 swings to hit .349 and wore down the Javelina defense to win 25-22. A 7-2 run after falling behind 14-12 flipped the set into UT Tyler's favor with a 17-14 advantage that would prove vital after Texas A&M-Kingsville tied the set up at 19-19 just a few moments later.
 
A 6-2 run from that point for UT Tyler secured the 25-21 win, and put the Patriots just a set victory away from punching their ticket to the semifinals. Texas A&M-Kingsville was finally able to make the most out of the Patriot errors in the third set, leading by as many as 10 at the 17-7 mark before closing out the set with a 25-16 win.
 
Set four was the closest of the match as Texas A&M-Kingsville reversed their fortunes in the first two sets and went on a late run of their own to force a deciding fifth set. The Javelinas put down five kills in their final six points as part of a 6-1 closing run after UT Tyler took the 21-20 lead.
 
Set four saw six lead changes before the Javelinas took control in the final points to, for the moment, keep their season alive.
 
The deciding fifth set was as good as it gets as the point differential never reached more than three, and both teams led by two points at multiple times. UT Tyler went on a 4-1 run after falling behind 11-10 to force the first of three match points at 14-12.
 
Texas A&M-Kingsville answered with two straight points to tie it at 14-14, and then survived the second match point at 15-14 with a kill from Jackie Alanis. A key error was called against Texas A&M-Kingsville on the ensuing point, giving the Patriots a 16-15 advantage before Jones put away the final kill to help UT Tyler claim the 17-15 win.
 
Senior Hannah Callison set UT Tyler up with match point the first two opportunities with a pair of kills that ultimately provided a key difference in the deciding fifth.
 
UT Tyler finished the night with 71 kills and 99 digs as a team, matching their season high in kills and establishing their second most digs in a match so far this year.
 
Ware, who was named the 2022 Lone Star Conference Player of the Year at last night's conference awards banquet, showed a complete game with a team high 22 kills and 20 digs for the double-double. Guzman helped keep a dangerous Javelina offense in check with a team-high 25 digs, and also notched seven assists.
 
Setter Adeline Ortman notched 38 assists and 10 digs to record a double-double as well, while Jones was incredibly efficient on the night with her 12 kills in just 27 swings for a .370 hitting percentage.
 
UT Tyler will await the winner of the Angelo State-West Texas A&M match to set the stage for tomorrow's semifinal match at 7:30 p.m.