TYLER, TEXAS – UT Tyler volleyball capped off their regular season at 16-11 overall and 12-5 in LSC play as they took down DBU on Senior Day inside the HPC on Saturday.
 
The Patriots celebrated Emma Vazquez, Jackie Velzis, Saige Rivera, and Kota Hartman in a pregame ceremony as they would play in their final contest inside their home gym.
 
UT Tyler hit a blistering .351 for the match and held DBU to just .142 as both Autumn Perry and Jackie Velzis hit double digit kills and seven different players recorded at least one kill.
 
That blistering effort started quickly, as the Patriots hit .667 in the first set while committing no errors and forcing DBU to hit just -0.074. DBU kept things close early in the set, with the Patriots holding a 9-6 lead. The Patriots opened it up with a 7-0 run as Sydney Atkinson, Perry, Kailey Manes, and Velzis each totaled kills in the run. DBU would score just two points in answer, as UT Tyler closed the set with eight straight points as Alyson Robbins grabbed two kills and Faith Wilkins picked up a solo block for a 25-8 win.
 
The offensive onslaught continued in the second, as the Patriots hit .464 with just two errors in 28 swings on their way to another dominant set. Two kills from Perry and another from Robbins to go along with two service aces from Anna Arceneaux  that stretched into a 9-3 run from UT Tyler saw four kills from Velzis alone as they took a commanding 20-14 lead. The Patriots closed the set with three more kills as Saige Rivera picked up her first and both Perry and Manes added to their totals.
 
The closest set of the match would be the third, but the Patriots started hot with a 7-2 run as Wilkins added two kills and Riley Clinton added an ace. Manes, Velzis, Atkinson, and Perry continued to push the pace offensively, contributing to an 18-12 lead.
 
The Patriots would go up 22-17, and head coach Lyndsay Mashe subbed on Kota Hartman for one final serve in her UT Tyler career after suffering a knee injury earlier this season.
 
DBU would go on to cut the lead down to one, but another big kill from Manes and one final block from Velzis and Wilkins would cap off a brilliant day to make it a 3-0 sweep.
 
Autumn Perry finished the day with 13 kills, and Jackie Velzis added 10 more on a .474 percentage. Saige Rivera added 21 assists, and Anna Arceneaux led the team with 13 digs.
 
UT Tyler will now move on to the LSC Tournament, which will be played November 20-22 in San Angelo, Texas with Angelo State holding the #1 seed.