LUBBOCK, TEXAS – UT Tyler volleyball moved their winning streak to seven after a dramatic comeback win on Friday night against Lubbock Christian.
The Patriots hit .170 as a team but held the Lady Chaps to just .132 and posted 17 total blocks in the comeback.
Kota Hartman and
Makhai Lewis combined for 38 kills to lead the team.
The Patriots took control in set one, but the Lady Chaps spurred a run that got all the way out to 14-3 to give them the lead at 17-9. UT Tyler dug deep to get the game back to 16-18, but the Lady Chaps would close out the set on a convincing 7-4 run to win 25-20.
In the second set, the Lady Chaps again took control with a big run, this time a 11-7 run that gave them an 18-14 lead. The Patriots battled back, picking up a big block from
Saige Rivera and
Makhai Lewis and two errors from the Lady Chaps to cut the lead down to 18-17, but would not get any closer as the Lady Chaps controlled the remainder of the set to lead 2-0.
In the third set, the Patriots began to flip the match back in their favor. They hit .262 for the set, their second best mark of the match. The two teams would be close at 4-3 in the Patriots favor, but they rattled off a huge 8-4 run that saw kills from four different Patriots and a huge block from Hartman and
Dakota Rogers-Hurtado to hold a 12-8 lead.
From that point, the Patriots remained in full control, taking advantage of two kills and a solo block from Rogers-Hurtado and kills from both Hartman and Lewis to run all the way out to 17-11 before closing out the set 25-20.
The two teams came out nearly deadlocked in the fourth set, with neither team taking more than a point lead up until 13-13. The Patriots were the first team to take a two point lead, using an error from the Lady Chaps and a kill from Hartman to move ahead 15-13. The Lady Chaps would battle back, ultimately taking a 23-21 lead and knocking on the door of taking the match.
Kota Hartman stepped up huge in the final points, putting down two straight kills before Velzis and Rogers-Hurtado combined for a critical block to put the Patriots up 24-23. The Lady Chaps got a kill to tie the game back up, but Hartman put down one more kill and the Lady Chaps posted an attack error that allowed the Patriots to take the fourth set and force a deciding fifth.
The Patriots took a quick lead in the fifth, using two block assists from Velzis and Rogers-Hurtado, a kill from Rogers-Hurtado, and an ace from
Makayla Villarreal to run out to a 4-0 lead.
That lead would continue on, as the Patriots distanced themselves from the Lady Chaps behind kills from Perry, Lewis, and Hartman and a solo block from
Saige Rivera to build a 9-4 lead.
The Lady Chaps would never get within four points over the remainder of the set, as Rogers-Hurtado and Velzis combined for one more block before Velzis shut down the match with a critical kill to take the final set 15-8.
Perry and Rogers-Hurtado added eight kills each, and Velzis picked up six in the match.
Rogers-Hurtado registered 13 total blocks and four other Patriots recorded at least two total blocks in a dominant defensive effort as they held the Lady Chaps to just a .132 hitting percentage.
The Patriots will now battle it out on Saturday afternoon for the number two seed in the LSC Tournament. That match will be against Angelo State on the road, with a first serve time set for 2 p.m.
