LAST TIME OUT

Last week the Patriots took on the LSC Challenge, an event where LSC teams are sorted into three team pods based on last season's standings and play a pair of matches. The Patriots finished third last season and drew #10 West Texas A&M and #13 Angelo State for their pod.
 
The Patriots would battle close with the Lady Buffs but ultimately drop the match 3-0. Against the #13 Rambelles however, the Patriots offense found their stride, pulling off the big upset win as Autumn Perry and Kota Hartman combined for 39 kills while Saige Rivera dished out 52 assists in the five set thriller.
 
THE LSC PRESEASON POLL
 
In the LSC Preseason Poll, the Patriots were selected third, only behind Angelo State and West Texas A&M in the rankings. Additionally, the Patriots picked up three first place votes in the poll.
 
Senior setter Saige Rivera was selected as the LSC Preseason Setter of the Year, marking the first time in program history that they earned a preseason LSC Player of the Year honor.
 
Each team in the conference will begin their conference play this week.
 
THE AGGIES
 
The first match of the week sees Cameron head to the Herrington Patriot Center for a 6 p.m. match on Friday night. They are 4-8 on the year and are 0-4 on the road. In the LSC Challenge last week, they went 1-1 with a loss to St. Edward's and a 3-1 win over UT Dallas.
 
As a team they are hitting .147 offensively while pushing out 9.5 assists per set and 14.8 digs per set. The offense is led by the pair of Anastasija Andelic and Presleigh Roest, who have totaled 77 and 70 kills on attack percentages of .211 and .196, respectively. Roest leads the team in total blocks, and Andelic leads the team in digs. Rachael White and Kayla Quintana have split the setting duties, with each posting over 160 assists.
 
The Patriots are 6-0 all-time against Cameron and have gone to five sets just one time, the first meeting back on October 12, 2019. The Patriots have picked up 3-1 wins in each of the last two years, both of which coming in Tyler, Texas.
 
THE EAGLES
 
Oklahoma Christian comes into Saturday's matchup at 7-2 overall. In their LSC Challenge last week they took a 3-0 victory over UT Permian Basin but then suffered a 3-0 defeat to Lubbock Christian.
 
The Eagles are hitting an impressive .274 so far this year while pushing 13.1 assists per set and posting 15.4 digs per set. Annie Davis is the unquestioned leader of the offense, posting 105 kills over 29 sets on a percentage of .256. Sophie Mae Smith and Summer van Meerveld lead the setting duties with 205 and 156 assists, respectively. Macey Nehring leads the team in digs and Camryn McGough is the team leader in blocks.
 
UT Tyler is 4-0 all-time against Oklahoma Christian, with three of the four games being sweeps. Last year featured a 3-0 sweep in Tyler, Texas as three different Patriots went for double digit kills.
 
PATRIOTS NEWS AND NOTES
 

• UT Tyler went 18-9 overall in 2024 with a 14-2 record in the LSC. They qualified for their 4^th straight NCAA South Central Regional Tournament and finished 3^rd in the LSC Standings.
• The Patriots are led by head coach Lyndsay Mashe who is in her 10^th season with the program and 20^th year as a head coach. She is 167-77 (.684) with the Patriots and 361-199 (.645) overall.
• Coach Mashe is joined by her husband and Associate Head Coach Kris Mashe, who has been at her side throughout all 20 years of her tenure.
• UT Tyler will return their three highest offensive players in terms of kills from 2024 as Kota Hartman, Autumn Perry, and Jackie Velzis come back. Hartman, the reigning LSC Newcomer of the Year, had 399 kills and hit .216 to average 3.87 kills per set.
• Saige Rivera, the Preseason LSC Setter of the Year, will look to build on a season that saw her total 995 assists for an average of 9.85 per set. She also had a strong year at the service line, picking up 24 aces to post the third most on the team.
• Of the 10 players that played at least 70 sets last season, seven will make their return in one of the strongest returning classes in recent seasons.
• Through the opening weekends of the season, Autumn Perry leads the Patriots with 119 kills and Maya Jones has a .286 attack percentage to lead the team with those over 20 kills. Saige Rivera has 237 assists thus far, and Anna Arceneaux has 120 total digs.