SAN ANGELO, TEXAS – UT Tyler volleyball celebrated a successful regular season and recognized several of its top student-athletes Tuesday at the Lone Star Conference Volleyball Awards Ceremony in San Angelo, Texas, as the Patriots earned five All-Conference selections and two All-Academic Team honors ahead of the 2026 LSC Volleyball Championship.
The Patriots had seven total selections across the conference's postseason awards, highlighted by Maya Jones and Kailey Manes earning All-Conference First Team honors. Melanie Merrill was named to the All-Conference Second Team, while Makhai Lewis earned Honorable Mention recognition and Miley Myers was selected to the All-Freshman Team.
In the classroom, Anna Arceneaux and Manes represented UT Tyler on the LSC All-Academic Team, recognizing their accomplishments both academically and on the volleyball court.
Jones, a junior right-side hitter, earned First Team recognition after leading the Patriots with 230 kills and 261.5 points through the regular season. She averaged 2.50 kills per set while hitting .259 and added 61 total blocks. Manes, a senior middle blocker, also earned First Team honors after recording 195 kills, 99 total blocks and a conference-best .405 hitting percentage.
Merrill collected Second Team recognition after totaling 224 kills and 49 blocks while averaging 2.43 kills per set. The senior outside hitter finished the regular season with a .250 hitting percentage and provided a consistent presence in the Patriots' offensive attack.
Lewis earned All-Conference Honorable Mention honors after putting together one of the top defensive seasons in the conference. The senior middle blocker recorded 110 total blocks, including 16 solo blocks, while averaging 1.18 blocks per set. She also contributed 98 digs and 98 kills on the season.
Myers rounded out the Patriots' All-Conference selections with a spot on the All-Freshman Team. The Edmond, Oklahoma, native recorded 122 kills across 45 sets, averaging 2.71 kills per set and 2.92 points per set during her first collegiate season.
Arceneaux and Manes were UT Tyler's representatives on the All-Academic Team. Arceneaux, a sophomore libero studying psychology, recorded 392 digs and averaged 4.31 digs per set while posting a .954 reception percentage. Manes, a senior mass communication major, joined the All-Academic Team after another standout season at the net and on the offensive end.
The postseason recognition comes following another historic regular season for the Patriots, who finished 22-5 overall and 13-4 in Lone Star Conference play. UT Tyler's 22 victories included a 7-0 record in neutral-site matches, marking the program's most regular-season wins since joining NCAA Division II. The Patriots also finished with a 9-3 record on the road and secured the No. 3 seed in the upcoming conference tournament.
UT Tyler now turns its attention to the 2026 Lone Star Conference Volleyball Championship, where the Patriots will open tournament play against sixth-seeded Texas A&M-Kingsville on Thursday at 11 a.m. in San Angelo.
