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Head coach Steve Aicinena knew he only had one chance of getting into the Heartland Conference Tournament, and that was to defeat Dallas Baptist at home. The University of Texas of the Permian Basin volleyball team did just that as the Falcons took a 3-1 (27-25, 18-25, 25-22, 25-22) win over the Patriots.

UTPB now sits a 6-5 in conference play and is still not a lock for the fourth and final spot in the standings. The Falcons, along with St. Mary's and Newman will go down to the wire to see who will fill the final spot. St. Mary's currently holds the tie-breaker over UTPB, while the Falcons have already defeated Newman once this season and still has to play the Jets on the road. Newman split with St. Mary's earlier this season.

The Falcons looked like they had no post season dreams in mind when the match against Dallas Baptist started as the Patriots jumped out to an 11-2 lead. UTPB slowly but surely crept its way back in to eventually tie the set at 24. The Falcons used an 8-4 run on two different occasions along the way to get back in the game. Jamie Rodell gave the Falcons the lead for the first time with one of her two kills in the set to give UTPB a 25-24 lead. DBU would tie the game at 25 on a kill by Claire Stephens before back-to-back hitting errors by the Patriots gave the Falcons a 1-0 match advantage.

Dallas Baptist jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set, but like the first game, the Falcons clawed their way back in. Rodell once again put down a kill that tied the game at nine. She would go on to have 10 on the day and was one of three players to record double-digit kills. Melissa Lusk has a match-high 13, wile Keely Brogdon had a career-high 11.

The Falcons were never able to take the lead as the Patriots scored six of the final nine points of the set to tie the match at one.

Terra Peil's kill broke a 2-2 tie in the third set and gave the Falcons the lead for good and the momentum going into the halftime break. She recorded two of her nine kills in the set and also picked up one of her five block assists in the contest. The Patriots never threatened until back-to-back hitting errors by the Falcons brought DBU within two (21-19), but would come no closer the rest of the way.

Like the third set, the Falcons broke an early tie after a Kill by Alex Genung, giving them a 4-3 lead which they would not relinquish. The Patriots came within one on two different occasions, but a kill by Lusk gave UTPB the third and final set victory to clinch the match.

The Patriots have already punched their ticket into the Heartland Conference Tournament and will most likely be the No.2 seed behind league-leader St. Edward's. The Falcons will host Tarleton State on Tuesday before they head to Wichita, Kans. to face Newman in a crucial conference tilt.