TYLER, TEXAS – The University of Texas at Tyler volleyball team began the Lone Star Conference Crossover event with a 3-1 (25-20, 21-25, 25-15, 25-22) win over Lubbock Christian on Thursday afternoon.
 
Senior Mikayla Ware had 21 kills and 20 digs and classmate Hannah Callison pitched in 14 kills to get the weekend started off on the right foot in the conference-wide crossover event in San Angelo, Texas. Both Patriots were efficient and helped provide stability to an otherwise up-and-down effort for the UT Tyler offense in the victory.
 
Ware put down 21 kills on 55 swings for a .236 hitting percentage and Callison record 14 kills on 25 attempts on an afternoon in which the Patriots out-killed Lubbock Christian by a 56-to-44 margin. Sophomore Adeline Ortman was once again impressive in commanding the UT Tyler offense, dishing out 43 assists while also adding seven digs to the effort.
 
UT Tyler finished the match with a .190 hitting percentage, committing 27 errors to Lubbock Christian's 20, but leaned out the work of Ware and Callison to do enough to reel off their third straight victory. Senior Savannah Guzman put in her best dig output of the season with 21 on the night, and helped stifle the Lubbock Christian offense alongside Ware.
 
It was junior Evelyn Torres however who provided the offensive emphasis in the opening 25-20 first set victory for the Patriots, putting down five kills in the set alone. UT Tyler had their most efficient offensive set in that first frame, putting down 16 kills while committing just three errors for a .317 team hitting percentage.
 
The Patriots quickly rebounded after a back-and-forth second set loss, combining kills from Ware and Callison with service aces to jump out to a 15-3 lead in the set. That fast start was all UT Tyler needed to move back ahead in the match, 2-to-1.
 
Lubbock Christian started out hot in the fourth set, beginning the frame with a 7-2 run before UT Tyler strung together 6 straight points to flip the lead into an 8-7 total in their favor. Both teams traded the lead back-and-forth before a second run of six straight points, once again powered by service aces and the swings of Ware and Callison, put UT Tyler ahead 23-17 and ultimately ended the Lady Chaps bid at forcing a fifth set.
 
UT Tyler posted a season-high nine service aces in the match to help keep the momentum going in the key runs of the match.
 
The Patriots will now shift their attention to non-conference tilts on Friday and Saturday between the other two members of the Lone Star Conference that advanced into the NCAA Division II National Tournament last season. UT Tyler will take on Angelo State tomorrow evening on their home floor at 12 p.m., and will finish the weekend with a 12 p.m. meeting on Saturday against #13 West Texas A&M.