TYLER, TEXAS – (RV) UT Tyler volleyball begins their season at 0-1 as they fell to #5 Ferris State 3-1 (25-23, 26-28, 25-23, 25-22) inside the Herrington Patriot Center as part of the 2025 Patriot Classic.
 
The Bulldogs got the match going with a 2-0 lead, but the Patriots marched back with five straight points that included kills from Kota Hartman and Jackie Velzis, as well as an ace from Emma Vazquez to take a 5-2 lead.
 
The Bulldogs would respond with their own run to even the match at 5-5, beginning a run up until a 24-20 lead from the Bulldogs that saw neither team hold more than a three point lead.
 
That 24-20 lead would whittle down to just one point after a pair of errors and a big block from newcomer Maya Jones, but the Bulldogs earned the set with with a kill and took a 25-23 first set win.
 
The second set saw the Patriots get gritty and battle through a tough hitting frame as they took advantage of 12 errors from the Bulldogs on their way to a 28-26 win to even the match. After a 1-0 start from #5 Ferris State, (RV) UT Tyler rattled off six straight points to take the lead as Kailey Manes added a kill and she and Hartman each added a block in the stretch. The Bulldogs would battle back to get the Patriots down to set point at 24-22, but a service error followed up by a big kill from Autumn Perry evened the set.
 
Both teams would trade kills, but it was a pair of errors from the Bulldogs that ultimately sealed their fate in the set and allow the Patriots to pull even at 1-1.
 
Neither team would find an edge yet again in the third set, with no side holding a lead larger than two until the Bulldogs put together a three point run to make it 16-12. They held onto that four point lead at 18-14, but a four point run from the Patriots that saw Manes and Hartman again come up big with kills pulled them even at 18-18.
 
The two teams would alternate points yet again coming down the stretch, but the Bulldogs took advantage of an attack error from the Patriots and ultimately held off the late rally to take a 25-23 set and a 2-1 lead.
 
The fourth set saw a similar start as the second set, with the Patriots taking a 5-2 lead as Perry and Manes combined for three kills while Makhai Lewis and Velzis picked up a key block. However, the Bulldogs held things together and put together a 14-7 run that gave them a four point lead at 16-12.
 
That lead would stretch out to 20-14, but the Patriots refused to go down as they picked up four straight points thanks to Perry and Sydney Atkinson putting down a kill each. Lewis would get in on the action as well, picking up a kill and an ace to cut the lead down to just one at 21-20. However, the Bulldogs again held firm late in the set, ultimately taking another 25-23 win.
 
In total, Autumn Perry and Kailey Manes recorded double-digit kills at 13 and 10, and both recorded hitting percentages over .300. Saige Rivera dished out 28 assists, and Anna Arceneaux grabbed 20 digs in her debut.
 
(RV) UT Tyler will be back on the court to continue the 2025 Patriot Classic on Friday at 4 p.m. against #7 Central Oklahoma.