CANYON, TEXAS – The University of Texas at Tyler fell 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-15) in the semifinals of the 2022 Lone Star Conference Volleyball Championship to host and no. 1 seed West Texas A&M.
The no. 4 seeded Patriots struggled to slow down a Lady Buff offense that was clicking on all cylinders in front of their home fans, and will now await to see if they are selected as one of the six available at-large bids into the 2022 NCAA South Central Regional Tournament.
The winners of the Lone Star Conference Volleyball Championship and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championship will receive the two at-large bids into the eight-team field, while the final six spots will be selected based on at-large bids awarded by the NCAA Selection Committee.
The field for the tournament set for Nov. 17-19 at the no. 1 seed's host site will air this Sunday, November 13th at 10:30 PM ET on
NCAA.com. A link to the show will be on the front page of NCAA.com and included on uttylerpatriots.com.
UT Tyler finished the night with 30 kills, but struggled to answer a Lady Buff offense that put down 46 kills on 95 swings and hit .337 for the match. Senior
Mikayla Ware led the Patriots with nine kills, while classmate
Hattie Murray chipped in seven kills.
The Patriots kept the first frame close up until a 6-1 run for West Texas A&M broke the scoring open at 18-12. The Lady Buffs used that momentum to go up 1-0 in the match with a 25-18 victory.
UT Tyler seemingly settled in for a much better effort in the second set, jumping out to a 13-10 lead, before a similar 6-1 run for the Lady Buffs made it 19-16 heading into the final stages of the frame. The Lady Buffs stayed strong from that point forward, winning 25-19.
The third and eventual final set was all West Texas A&M as a 16-7 start led to a 25-15 victory.
UT Tyler closes out the 2022 LSC Volleyball Championship with a record of 20-9 on the year. The Patriots sat no. 7 in the final edition of the South Central Regional Rankings announced on Wednesday afternoon, and have a solid resume to present to the national selection committee for an at-large bid into what would be their second appearance in the NCAA Division II National Volleyball Tournament.
