Match Info	Opponent Info
#3 Wayne State vs. (RV) UT Tyler UM: 4-0, 0-0 NSIC | UTT: 4-0, 0-0 LSC Friday, Sept. 8th | 11 a.m. CST Denver, Colo. | Regis University		ROSTER	SCHEDULE	STATS
(RV) UT Tyler at #19 Regis UTT: 4-0, 0-0 LSC | RU: 2-2, 0-0 RMAC Friday, Sept. 8th | 3 p.m. CST Denver, Colo. | Regis University		ROSTER	SCHEDULE	STATS
TBD TBD Saturday, Sept. 9th | TBD Denver, Colo. | TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
TBD TBD Saturday, Sept. 9th | TBD Denver, Colo. | TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

WHAT COACH MASHE IS SAYING

On her team's 4-0 weekend at the 2023 Patriot Challenge... "There were alot of positives through the weekend. Now it's just a matter of cleaning things up and getting more consistent. We know that we're going to have to do that moving forward, but there's definitely things to build upon. I'm really proud of our team. We showed alot of fight this weekend, trailing in several different sets. In the Southern Nazarene game, where we were down 9-5 in the fifth and came back and won, we showed alot of grit and resiliency to come back and win in five. The crowd really got into it and helped us gain that momentum that we needed. Proud of the finish at 4-0 for sure." 

On the improvements a deep, talented, yet inexperienced 2023 team can make heading into this weekend... "There was alot of talk about improvement and cleaning up the mistakes throughout the weekend. I think the team knows and realizes the things that we need to sharpen up on, so we've just been attacking that daily. Passing the ball is a big part of it, you win in the serving and the passing battle, and we need to be better there, and so that's where alot of our focus has been heading into this weekend. If we can pass the ball better, we do have the offense to do some really special things this year."

On the opportunity the Colorado Premier Challenge provides the program... "We're so excited to get this opportunity. Our team is looking forward to making that trip together, it really is a team bonding experience. The competition is going to be great and it's really going to put our team to the test quickly. Which is what we need heading into conference play and looking forward to the future. I can't wait to face Wayne State and Regis on Friday and just see how our team battles. The pressure is on them though, we don't have a top 25 ranking, so we want to see how our team can handle that and step up this weekend."

LAST TIME OUT

UT Tyler finished the 2023 Patriot Classic with a 4-0 record to kick-off the season for the Patriots. They defeated Montevallo by a 3-0 final (25-15, 25-16, 25-20) and Southern Nazarene 3-2 (25-19, 20-25, 25-23, 19-25, 15-12) on day one. Freshman Shaye Koski provided an eye-opening debut in a Patriot uniform with 32 kills between the two matches, pacing UT Tyler in both matches with 12 kills in the win over Montevallo and 20 kills in the second match against Southern Nazarene. Koski registered her first career double-double in the five-set win over Southern Nazarene, posting 15 digs to compliment her 20-kill outing. UT Tyler won both games by a 3-1 final on Saturday afternoon to complete the weekend with wins over Fort Lewis and Union. The Patriots hit .289 as a unit between the two matches, putting down 56 and 64 kill totals respectively, to begin the 2023 season with an unblemished record. UT Tyler rode two opening set victories for their first 3-1 (25-10, 25-22, 24-26, 28-26) win of the day over Fort Lewis, and then produced a tournament-best offensive match in the 3-1 (25-17, 22-25, 26-24, 25-12) win over Union. UT Tyler hit .338 in the win over Union, their best output of the young season, and benefitted from double-digit kills outputs by a trio of Patriots in Shaye Koski (17), Jackie Velzis (15) and Jeorgia Jones (10). Koski led the Patriots in kills in both matches once again on Saturday afternoon, turning in 17-kill performances in both victories to average 4.25 kills per set for the tournament. It was largely the defense that captained UT Tyler to their opening victory of the day against Fort Lewis, as the Patriots totaled 12 blocks and out-dug the Falcons by an 85-71 margin. That work limited Fort Lewis to just a .116 hitting percentage for the match and less than 15 kills in all four sets. Middle blockers Maiya Peña and Dakota Rogers-Hurtado both provided five blocks in the match, while libero Adeline Ortman (22) and setter Jenna White (19) each notched double-digit digs totals.

PATRIOT NOTES AND TRENDS

- UT Tyler is 4-0 for the third time in five seasons since beginning Division II competition in 2019. The Patriots began both 2020 (played in the spring of '21) and 2021 with 4-0 records and rode that fast start to 14 straight wins in 2020 and 15 straight wins in 2021.
- The Patriots are now 30-8 inside the Herrington Patriot Center as an NCAA Division II program and have been especially dominant in home Lone Star Conference matches, posting a 21-1 mark in LSC home games since 2020. 
- The Patriots are 68-31 (.689) since beginning Division II play in 2019, and have posted a record of 44-19 (.698) in Lone Star Conference matches. UT Tyler is 58-15 (.794) over the course of the last three seasons (2020-22) and have made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Division II National Tournament following 20-win seasons in 2021-22. 
- UT Tyler is 4-2 all-time against the RMAC. They have lost their most two recent matches against the other conference in the South Central Region after 3-0 losses last year against Colorado Mesa and Colorado School of Mines.
- UT Tyler is 16-8 as a Division II program in neutral site matches.
- Freshman Shaye Koski and sophomore Jeorgia Jones were named to the 2023 Patriot Classic All-Tournament Team after last weekend's play. Koski led UT Tyler in kills in all four matches and averaged 4.13 kills per set, fourth best across the Lone Star Conference. Jones reached double-digit kills total twice and hit .384 for the weekend. 
- UT Tyler finished opening weekend ranked sixth in the Lone Star Conference with a .243 hitting percentage and fourth with an average of 13.75 kills per set. The Patriots averaged the fifth most digs per set (16.81) through the first four matches in 2023.
- Koski averaged the second-most points per set in the Lone Star Conference with an average of 4.53 last weekend. She totaled 72.5 points, 66 of which came via a kill. 
- Jones ranks eighth in the LSC with a hitting percentage of .384. Setter Adeline Ortman averaged the seventh most assists (6.25) per set and libero Adeline Evans the eighth most digs (4.75) per set. Evans led UT Tyler in digs in all four matches, and twice eclipsed the 20-dig threshold in the wins against Southern Nazarene and Union.
- Four different Patriots recorded 10 or more kills in a match (Koski, Jones, Brylee Peterson and Jackie Velzis). Koski reached 10 kills in all four matches, Velzis reached that mark in each of the last two matches heading into the Colorado Premier Challenge.
- Koski, Ortman and setter Jenna White each recorded a double-double at the Patriot Classic.
- Head coach Lyndsay Mashe enters 2023 as the all-time leader in career wins as head volleyball coach at UT Tyler with a record of 132-50 (.719). Mashe enters her eighth season as head coach of the Patriots, and 18th season overall as a collegiate head coach having spent 10 seasons on the sidelines of her alma mater East Texas Baptist. Mashe went 198-122 over the course of those 10 years in Marshall, and begins this fall with a career record of 326-172 (.652).
- UT Tyler finished 20-10 overall last fall and 12-4 in Lone Star Conference play. The Patriots finished fourth in the LSC regular season standings. UT Tyler earned a second-straight at-large bid into the South Central Regional Tournament in 2022, earning the no. 7 seed in the field. The Patriots were defeated by eventual NCAA Division II National Champions West Texas A&M by a 3-0 final. UT Tyler notched the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament victory in 2021 as the no. 6 seed in the field, defeating no. 3 seeded Colorado Mesa by a 3-1 final tally. UT Tyler has been selected for the NCAA Division II National Tournament in each of the first two seasons of eligibility for the program.
- UT Tyler features 12 returners and nine newcomers to the 2023 roster this fall. Maiya Peña, Dakota Rogers-Hurtado and Adeline Ortman return as All-LSC selections last season. Peña earned her second All-LSC accolade in 2022 as a Second Team selection following an Honorable Mention nod in 2021. Rogers-Hurtado and Ortman were both selected as 2022 Honorable Mention All-LSC selections.
- Peña ranks fourth all-time in the UT Tyler record books with a career hitting percentage of .329 and third all-time with 281.0 total blocks. Ortman ranks 9h all time in program history with 909 assists. Rogers-Hurtado ranks second with 1.05 blocks per set.
- UT Tyler ranked fourth in both hitting percentage (.212) and average kills (13.40) last season. UT Tyler led the LSC in kills per set in both 2021 (14.59) and 2020 (13.84).

WAYNE STATE A GLANCE

- Wayne State enters the Colorado Premier Challenge at no. 3 in the latest AVCA/TARAFLEX Division II National Coaches Poll and opened 2023 last weekend with four straight wins at the Concordia Irvine Tournament. The WIldcats went 30-3 last season, and have failed to win 20 or more matches in a season just once since 2004.
- Wayne State is led by returning AVCA First Team All-American selections Taya Beller and Maggie Brahmer. Beller averaged 5.46 kills per set last weekend and was named the NSIC Offensive Player of the Week.
- Head coach Scott Kneifl is in his 19th year as head coach at Wayne State College and has led his program to 12 NCAA Division II National Tournament appearances, a NCAA Division II Central Regional Title and a national semifinal appearance. He is 424-142 (.747) all-time.
- This will be the first ever meeting between Wayne State College and UT Tyler.

REGIS AT A GLANCE

- Regis sits no. 19 in the latest national poll with a 2-2 record after opening 2023 last weekend in San Bernardino, Calif. against four teams associated with the national poll. Regis began the year with wins over #15 Western Washington and #9 Cal State Los Angeles, followed by a pair of losses against #19 Cal State San Bernardino and (RV) Central Washington.
- The Rangers went 22-8 last season and 16-2 in the RMAC before falling to Colorado School of Mines in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Tournament. Last year's trip to the NCAA Division II National Tournament was the ninth appearance in the last 10 years.
- The Rangers are led by a pair of returning All-Americans in Amelia Davis and Mara LeGrand. LeGrand is a three-time First Team All-RMAC selection.
- Head coach Joel List is in his seventh season as head coach of teh Rangers. He owns a 135-40 (.766) record and has claimed a pair of RMAC Regular Season Champions and four NCAA Division II National Tournament appearances.
- This will be the first ever meeting between the two programs.

IN THE RECEIVING VOTES CATEGORY

The University of Texas at Tyler volleyball program remained in the receiving votes category of the first regular season AVCA/TARAFLEX Division II National Coaches Poll. UT Tyler received 26 votes in the first regular season edition of the national poll after earning nine total votes in the preseason edition of the rankings. West Texas A&M remained as the no. 1 ranked team in this week's poll, receiving 41 of the 44 available first-place votes after beginning their 2023 campaign with a 4-0 record. Angelo State (31) and DBU (11) joined UT Tyler in the receiving votes category to round out the Lone Star Conference representation in the first regular season rankings.
 

Rank	School (First-Place Votes Adjusted)	Total Points Adjusted	Record	Previous Week
1	West Texas A&M [41]	1,152	4-0	1
2	Concordia- St. Paul [3]	1,125	4-0	2
3	Wayne State (NE)	1,011	4-0	4
4	Tampa	986	3-0	5
5	St. Cloud State	922	4-0	7
6	MSU Denver	907	3-1	3
7	Minnesota Duluth	867	4-0	8
8	Missouri-St. Louis	804	4-0	10
9	Cal State San Bernardino [2]	727	4-0	19
10	Nebraska-Kearney	673	4-0	16
11	Southwest Minnesota State	652	3-1	11
12	Barry	590	1-1	6
13	West Florida	519	2-1	12
14	Colorado Mesa	447	4-0	21
15	Northwest Missouri State	431	3-1	13
16	Cal State L.A.	405	1-3	9
17	Washburn	380	2-1	17
18	Wingate	357	4-0	20
19	Regis	322	2-2	18
20	Chaminade	309	8-0	NR
21	Alaska-Anchorage	230	4-4	14
22	Western Washington	175	0-4	15
23	Central Washington	145	2-2	NR
24	Cal Poly Pomona	132	3-1	23
25	Harding	122	4-0	NR

 

Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots:?Central Oklahoma 92; Ferris State 72; Lewis 72; Rockhurst 61; Colorado School of Mines 56; Clarion 51; Quincy 35; Wayne State (Mich.) 34; Wheeling 34; Angelo State 31; Gannon 27; Central Missouri 26; Texas-Tyler 26; Winona State 22; Daemen 21; Lynn 18; American International 15; Florida Southern 14; Nova Southeastern 14; Charleston 12; Findlay 12; Dallas Baptist 11; Spring Hill 11; Eckerd 10; Seattle Pacific 10; Hillsdale 6

13 teams mentioned on only one ballot for a total of 78 combined points

Dropped Out: Colorado School of Mines 22; Gannon 24; Lynn 25