box score
St. Edward's cruised to a 25-7 win in the opening set and rode the momentum the rest of the way as the Hilltoppers took a 3-1 (25-7, 27-25, 22-25, 25-21) win over the University of Texas of the Permian Basin in Heartland Conference action.
The Hilltoppers rode the arms of Whitney Rhoden and Pam Osborn who accounted for 28 of the team's 56 kills on the night. The Falcons on the other hand, had 40 kills led by Alex Genung, who picked up 10.
St. Edward's jumped out to a 13-1 lead in the first set and never allowed the Falcons to gain any momentum as UTPB hit -.138 for the match, collecting four kills with 8 errors. The Falcons would score just six more points the rest of the set as they were held to their lowest game score of the season.
Despite not being able to generate any offense in the opening set, the Falcons bounced back in the second. Trailing 15-12, UTPB battled back to eventually tie it at 17 on a St. Edward's attack error. The set would be tied seven more times, including 25-25, but back-to-back kills by Rhoden and Ashley Vander Hey gave the Hilltoppers the victory and a 2-0 match lead.
The third set was nearly a mirror image of the second with the teams going back and forth until another attack error by the Hilltoppers broke a 19-19 tie in favor of UTPB. Terra Peil would pick up her only ace of the night to give the Falcons a 21-19 lead which they would not lose the rest of the way. Jaime Rodell recorded up one of her five kills on the night to end the third set, giving the Falcons a 25-22 victory.
SEU's Lindy Luleff collected a kill that broke a 7-7 tie in the fourth set that was the start of a 5-1 run which eventually gave the Hilltoppers a 12-8 advantage. UTPB would bounce back with a 7-2 run of their own to take a 15-14 lead. It wouldn't last long as St. Edward's eventually took a 21-16 advantage after a UTPB error. The Hilltoppers would not lose the lead the rest of the way.
The Falcons are still fighting for the fourth and final spot in the Heartland Conference standings. The top-four finishers earn a berth into the conference tournament to be held Nov. 12-13. UTPB is now 9-18 overall and 5-5 in league play. St. Edward's has already punched its ticket into post season play as it is now 12-12 overall and 7-1 in Heartland Conference matches.
UTPB will be back in action when it hosts Dallas Baptist at 2 p.m. in what could be a must-win match for the Falcons.
