CANYON, TEXAS – UT Tyler survived a late rally from St. Mary's to win 3-2 (25-16, 27-25, 10-25, 22-25, 15-12) in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Lone Star Conference Volleyball Championship Tournament on Thursday afternoon.

Junior Kota Hartman finished with 21 kills and had a hand in seven out of the first eight points for UT Tyler in a deciding fifth set in which the Patriots won 15-12 to advance to Friday night's semifinal match. UT Tyler will play the winner of the no. 2 seeded Angelo State and no. 7 Oklahoma Christian quarterfinal match in tomorrow's first semifinal at 5 p.m.

Hartman totaled five kills and two blocks in the first eight points, accounting for seven of the 15 points for UT Tyler in the final frame, to help control a Rattler rally in the late stages of the match. St. Mary's responded after a 2-0 deficit to force a fifth set after winning the third and fourth frames, and then cut that final set to just one point at the 13-12 mark despite trailing 7-1 in the early stages.

UT Tyler scored the final two points of the frame to win 3-2 for a second time over St. Mary's this season after defeating the Rattlers in a very similar match back in early October. The Patriots will make their third appearance in the semifinal round of the LSC Volleyball Championship Tournament.

Hartman hit .217 in the match, scoring her 21 kills in 60 swings. Junior Jackie Velzis finished with 13 kills and senior Dakota Rogers-Hurtado 10 kills to join Hartman with double-digit kill totals.

Rogers-Hurtado finished with six blocks, while Hartman and Velzis each added five blocks.

UT Tyler cruised to a 25-16 first set win, opening an 8-4 lead that turned into a 16-10 advantage in what was an all-Patriots frame from start to finish. The Patriots then took set two in extra points despite a run of seven unanswered points by St. Mary's that resulted in an 18-15 Rattler advantage.

UT Tyler worked themselves back into the set and then fended off set point with a 4-1 run to claim a 27-25 victory.

St. Mary's controlled the third and fourth sets to set up the deciding fifth with 25-10 and 25-22 victories.

Hartman had five kills and a pair of blocks to start UT Tyler off with an 8-2 advantage in the fifth, an early lead that would prove vital as St. Mary's put together a 7-1 run a few points later to cut the deficit to just a single point at 13-12. Perry put an end to the final five points of that run that were unanswered with a kill for the 14^th point and then watched as Emma Vazquez scored an ace to send UT Tyler to the semifinals with the 15th point.

Vazquez led the way with 20 digs in what was a key defensive out-put by a Patriot backrow that out-dug St. Mary's by an 81-to-74 total. Addison Evans pitched in 19 digs and Bella Briceno 12 digs to help contribute to that excellent defensive work all match.

UT Tyler hit .184 for the match with 62 kills on 179 swings.