Match Info	Opponent Info
No. 5 Texas A&M-Kingsville vs. No. 4 UT Tyler TAMUK: 20-9, 12-4 LSC | UTT: 19-8, 12-4 LSC Thursday, Nov. 10th | 5:00 P.M. WTAMU Fieldhouse "The Box" | Canyon, Texas		ROSTER	SCHEDULE	STATS

POSTSEASON PATS ENGAGE

UT Tyler volleyball will make a third straight appearance in the Lone Star Conference Volleyball Championship Tournament after securing the no. 4 seed in the field with a 2-0 weekend on the road at UT Permian Basin and Angelo State. The 2022 version of the tournament will take place inside the WTAMU Fieldhouse, formally known as "The Box", and the home of the West Texas A&M Lady Buffs. This year's event will be just an eight-team bracket, contested over the course of Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The Patriots have seen mixed results in their previous two trips to the LSC Tournament in the Spring of 2021 season and the 2021 season last fall, having advanced all the way to the championship match on their home court in the Spring of 2021 tournament, and then dropping a 3-2 upset loss at the hands of St. Edward's last season. Overall the Patriots enter this weekend 3-2 all-time in the LSC Tournament, and 8-15 all-time in conference championship tournaments as a program.

WHAT COACH MASHE IS SAYING

On how the ups and downs of a long season has prepared her team for the postseason... "It has been an up-and-down season. We've used alot of those downs just for experience and learning how to handle adversity. That is all part of a regular season and I'm hoping in the end that's going to make us stronger because we've learned alot of things just about consistency, everybody showing up at the same time and just different things that I hope will help is us in the postseason."

On what experience in the postseason in previous years has taught her team... "We have to understand that starting now it is 0-0 for everybody going into this weekend at the conference tournament. Last year, we took an early out at the tournament and I think we got caught looking ahead in the tournament at who we might come against instead of worrying about each opponent and so I think that is a big learning lesson. We have to worry about each game as just one game and not look too far into the future."

On Thursday night's quarterfinal match against Texas A&M-Kingsville... "We start out with Texas A&M-Kingsville and they are a great team. They are playing very, very well right now and so we are going to have to make sure we bring the right type of energy and the right type of consistency. We're going to have to step up and perform on the big stage."

THE BRACKET
 
TICKETS

Single-session passes for the 2022 Lone Star Conference Volleyball Championship are now available through the West Texas A&M Athletic Ticket Office and TicketReturn. Single-session passes are $5 for adults and free children under 3-years-old and for university students with valid school I.D. (any institution). 

THE MATCH UP

Texas A&M-Kingsville is 20-9 on the year and 12-4 in Lone Star Conference play, and enters the 2022 LSC Volleyball Championship as the no. 5 seed after dropping the head-to-head regular season match against the Patriots by a 3-1 final back on Oct. 8th. That match served seemingly as a turning point for the Javelinas, as they have won 9 out of their last 10 matches since that point over the last month, and have vaulted themselves directly into contention for a potential selection into the 2022 NCAA South Central Regional Tournament. The Javelinas lead the Lone Star Conference in digs, kills and assists per game, and rank within the top 10 nationally in all three categories as well. Texas A&M-Kingsville sports one of the best liberos in the LSC in Nicole Murff, who leads the LSC and ranks seventh in all of Division II volleyball with 587 digs on the year. The Javelina offense runs through Ayanna Jackson and Jackie Alanis, who both average better than 3.00 kills per set.

UT Tyler knocked off Texas A&M-Kingsville on two different occasions in the regular season, both by 3-1 final scores. The first win over the Javelinas took place back on Sep. 3 at the OBU Fall Tournament in non-conference competition, followed by the aforementioned meeting between the two teams in LSC play. UT Tyler has now won three straight meetings against Texas A&M-Kingsville, and holds a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series.

A MATCH WITH HEAVY IMPLICATIONS

It will be no secret on Thursday night that when UT Tyler and Texas A&M-Kingsville step onto the floor in Canyon, Texas that their quarterfinal match will hold heavy implications. Both teams sat within the top 10 of last week's NCAA Division II South Central Regional Rankings, and will see where they sit in the final edition of the rankings this afternoon prior to Sunday's reveal of the NCAA Division II National Tournament Field. Texas A&M-Kingsville was on the outside looking in for one of the eight available spots in the field in the no. 9 spot, but have played as good of volleyball as any over the last few weeks of the season. UT Tyler will hold the head-to-head advantage over the Javelinas regardless of Thursday's result, having already defeated Texas A&M-Kingsville twice during the regular season, but make no mistake the regional advisory committee will have all eyes on Thursday's match if it comes down to UT Tyler and Texas A&M-Kingsville for one of the six at-large bids into the South Central Regional Tournament field.

CLIMBING UP THE RECORD BOOKS

A host of Patriots enter the postseason near the top of the all-time record marks in the UT Tyler volleyball record books. Savannah Guzman ranks second all-time in program history with 1,600 career digs, and is one of just three Patriots to have eclipsed the 1,500 career dig mark in the history of the program. Mikayla Ware sits in a tie for fourth all-time in the UT Tyler record books with 894 career kills, and holds the best kills per set average in the history of the program with an average of 3.92 per set. Ware is in the midst of a historic season for the Patriots, and sits 12 kills shy entering Thursday's match of matching Danika Waldrep's season record of 444 kills during the 2011 campaign. Her 4.55 kills per set average this season is the best in the history of the program, and she sits just 14 attack attempts shy of matching Waldrep's record of 1,213 attack attempts in a season as well. Hattie Murray ranks fifth all-time with 208 career blocks, and in the top 10 in program history in both solo blocks (37) and block assists (171). Maiya Peña also ranks as one of the best blockers in the history of the program, ranking seventh all-time with 191 total blocks, and has the second-best career hitting percentage at .339. Hannah Callison's quality play over the last few weeks allowed her to climb within the top-10 all-time in career kills, ranking eighth with 738 for her career.

STAT CHECK

UT Tyler ranks third in the Lone Star Conference with a team hitting percentage of .219 for the year, and fourth in the league with an average of 13.56 kills per set. Defensively the Patriots have limited their opposition to a .163 hitting percentage in 2022, third best in the LSC, and average 1.95 blocks per set. Ware leads the Lone Star Conference in points per set (5.04) and kills per set (4.55). She ranks sixth in all of Division II volleyball in kills per set and points per set. Sophomore Adeline Ortman ranks fourth in the LSC with an average of 0.38 service aces per set, and fifth in the league with an average of 7.43 assists per set.

COACH MASHE

Head coach Lyndsay Mashe is in the midst of her seventh season as the program's all-time winningest coach with 127 wins as head coach of the Patriots. Mashe is 127-48 (.726) as the leader of the Patriots. The 2021 Spring Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year is now 321-170 (.654) as a collegiate head coach after six seasons at UT Tyler and 10 seasons at East Texas Baptist.