DENTON, TEXAS – UT Tyler split both games on Friday as they fell to a record of 2-4 on the season and 1-1 at the TWU Volleyfest.
 
SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE
 
In match one of the day, the Patriots had everything going as they hit .253 for the match while adding 11 aces and 9 blocks on their way to a smooth three set sweep.
 
The tone was set from the start, with the Patriots cruising to an 8-1 lead in the first set. Kaitlyn Davis picked up a pair of kills and a service ace, and the Patriots took advantage of several errors from the Penmen.
 
Southern New Hampshire would battle back to cut the lead to 10-6, but that would be as close as they got as the Patriots closed the set on a 15-5 run to hold a 1-0 lead.
 
Autumn Perry, Jackie Velzis, Kailey Manes, and Kota Hartman each joined Davis with kills in the set as the Patriots offense cruised behind three different runs of at least three points.
 
In set two, the Patriots got off to a 5-0 start, getting kills from both Perry and Hartman to start the run. The Penmen battled back to a 7-6 deficit, but the Patriots hit the gas pedal on their way to an 18-3 run to shut down the set. That run was kickstarted by a 7-0 run that featured two aces from Saige Rivera and kills from Velzis and Perry, and then was followed up by an 8-0 run later in the set as Velzis and Perry added two more kills and Emma Vazquez picked up an ace.
 
The final set would feature more of the same action, as UT Tyler began with a 13-4 lead as they added three more aces and five more kills while continuing to take advantage of the mistakes from the Penmen.
 
Down the stretch, the Penmen would get the offense going, but it would ultimately be too little too late as the Patriots cruised to a 25-15 set win and a 3-0 sweep.
 
Autumn Perry led the Patriots with 11 kills on a .350 percentage. Kate Christiansen led the team with 15 assists and both Anna Arceneaux and Kaitlyn Davis had double digit digs with 12 and 10, respectively.
 
 TEXAS WOMAN'S
 
UT Tyler hit .171 as a team in the Friday afternoon contest while TWU hit an impressive .327 as they took down the Patriots in a decisive sweep.
 
Nine players for the Patriots recorded a kill in the contest but none of them got over 10 kills in the contest as the Patriots struggled to find a rhythm offensively.
 
Each team went on a run over the opening points of the first set before they knotted the game up at 4-4. The two teams would stay level yet again, this time at 10-10 as they continued the back-and-forth affair. The Patriots would go on a run of three straight points, picking up a key block from Kailey Manes and then an ace from Kaitlyn Davis as they stormed to a 13-11 lead.
 
However, the Pioneers would catch fire, running on a 9-2 run that would be only interrupted by a pair of Kota Hartman kills. The Patriots would get themselves back within three with kills from Davis and Jackie Velzis, but a 3-0 run from TWU wrapped up the set and a 1-0 lead.
 
In set number two, the Pioneers opened up a 4-2 lead to begin, and held the Patriots at arms length to an 8-5 lead. Hartman, Audrey Brandon, and Anna Arceneaux would each tally a kill in a 3-0 run for UT Tyler, leveling the score.
 
That would be the last time the set would be tied as TWU went on a 6-0 run that would extend all the way into a 17-7 run that ultimately allowed them to run away from the Patriots in the set and open up a 2-0 lead.
 
The third set saw the Patriots finally begin on the right foot, taking a 3-0 lead and eventually a 6-3 lead as Velzis and Perry added kills while Faith Wilkins added an ace. That lead grew again, this time as Hartman and Brandon each added another kill to their tally and the Patriots led 8-4.
 
TWU would continue to rally and continue to dig deep, going on another big run, this time being six straight points before growing into an 8-1 run as they took a 13-10 lead in their favor.
 
The two teams remained in a back-and-forth affair as Hartman, Velzis, and Maya Jones each added kills to keep the Patriots within reach. TWU would rip off three straight points to take a 23-17 lead, and the Patriots answered with three straight of their own as Perry added a kill and Saige Rivera added an ace to pull back to 23-20. That would be the final point of the day for the Patriots as the Pioneers scored two straight to put away the set and the match.
 
Kota Hartman led the Patriots with eight kills on a .538 percentage, while Velzis added six and Perry added five. Rivera had 13 assists in her efforts while Emma Vazquez, Davis, and Arceneaux each had six digs.
 
UT Tyler will be back in action on Saturday as they wrap up the TWU Volleyfest with games at 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. They will face off with Arkansas Monticello in the morning before seeing Arkansas Tech at 4:30 p.m.