TYLER, TEXAS – (RV) UT Tyler volleyball will look to right the ship tomorrow afternoon after #7 Central Oklahoma gave them their second straight loss to begin the 2025 season at the Patriot Classic.
 
The Bronchos took set wins of 25-18, 25-20, and 25-17 while hitting .306 as a team and holding the Patriots to just .115 in the contest.
 
Central Oklahoma got rolling to begin the contest, running out to a 5-1 lead and eventually a 10-5 lead. The Patriots got kills from Kailey Manes and Autumn Perry to claw themselves back into reach, but the Bronchos rattled off six straight points to lead 19-9 and essentially put the set out of reach on their way to a 25-18 win.
 
The second set started off with a stalemate, with the teams battling to a 5-5 draw. In that run, four different Patriots recorded a kill to stay neck and neck. The Bronchos made several runs of two and three points, but the Patriots continued to have the answers as Perry, and Sydney Atkinson tallied kills along with Makhai Lewis, Alyson Robbins, and Kota Hartman.
 
Those runs led to the Bronchos holding a slim 16-15 lead, but a stretch that saw Central Oklahoma score five of seven points allowed them to take a 21-17 lead and eventually hang on to the set win at 25-20.
 
In the third set, the Bronchos again kept the offense hot, hitting .275 as a team while totaling 14 kills to hold off the Patriot rally. The set was defined by two big runs from Central Oklahoma, a 5-0 run to begin the set, and a 5-0 run at 15-12 to push their lead to 20-12 and put the Patriots out of reach once and for all.
 
Sydney Atkinson led the Patriots with eight kills on the night, while Saige Rivera had 18 assists. Anna Arceneaux picked up 20 digs in the effort, and Riley Clinton added 12 assists of her own.
 
(RV) UT Tyler will be back in action tomorrow as they wrap up the 2025 Patriot Classic. They will see Ouachita Baptist at 11 a.m. and then close out with Mississippi College at 5 p.m. inside the Herrington Patriot Center.