SHAWNEE, OKLA. – UT Tyler put forth their best offensive display of the season thus far in a 3-2 (25-19, 24-26, 16-25, 25-18, 15-11) win over Oklahoma Baptist.

The Patriots hit .251 as a team, reaching double-digit kill totals in all five sets, to move to 2-0 on the weekend at the OBU Fall Tournament behind a pair of five-set victories on Friday over Southwestern Oklahoma State and Oklahoma Baptist. Juniors Kota Hartman and Autumn Perry provided the bulk of the UT Tyler offense on the night, totaling 22 and 18 kills, respectively.

Hartman reached double-double figures for a second time on Friday, matching the team high with 16 digs to go along with her season-high 22 digs. Setter Jenna White joined Hartman with a double-double output, registering 25 assists and 16 digs.

Hartman was particularly effective late in the match, totaling six kills of the 12 UT Tyler kills in the deciding fifth set.

 UT Tyler dominated the first and fourth sets, including an opening frame in which their offensive attack notched 17 kills without committing an error, posting a .486 team hitting percentage in the process. Hartman notched seven of her 22 kills in that opening frame alone, scoring seven times in 14 swings for a .500 hitting percentage.

Oklahoma Baptist seemingly turned the tide of the match in the second set, rebounding with four unanswered points after trailing 24-22 late to steal a 26-24 decision. The Bison carried that momentum into a 25-16 third set victory to jump ahead 2-1 in the match.

As impressive as the Patriot offense was for the entirety of the match, it was the Patriot defense that noticeably stepped up to slow down the Bison momentum in the fourth and then deciding fifth sets. UT Tyler out-dug Oklahoma Baptist by a 28-to-17 margin in the fourth and fifth sets and limited Oklahoma Baptist to .024 and .250 team hitting percentages in each frame.

An 11-11 game in the fourth turned into the Patriots hands, thanks in large part to that UT Tyler defensive work in the later stages of the set. UT Tyler forced a deciding fifth set with a 25-18 victory in that frame.

The fifth set proved to be a battle as the scoring differential never reached higher than two until UT Tyler closed out the set and the match with four unanswered points coming out of the 11-11 mark. The Patriots put down kills on 12 of their 15 points, six of which came from Hartman, and hit .409 as a unit in the frame.

The team hitting percentage for the match of .251 is the best single-match mark of the season thus far for the Patriots. Junior Saige Rivera led the Patriots with 31 assists on the night.
Hartman finished her evening with a .245 hitting percentage, putting down her 22 kills in 53 swings. Perry hit .235 with 18 kills in 51 swings.

Freshman Alyson Robbins provided a reliable third option for the Patriot offense, reaching double digits for the first time in her UT Tyler career with 10 kills on the night. The Arlington, Texas native committed just one error in 23 swings, posting a .391 hitting percentage for the night.

Hartman (16), White (16) and Addison Evans (15) provided the majority of the digs for a Patriot team that totaled 74 for the match.

The win draws the Patriots overall record to 2-3 on the year and give UT Tyler a chance to finish the weekend undefeated in tomorrow's match against McKendree at 10 a.m.