box score
 
 The University of Texas of the Permian Basin played itself into the thick of the Heartland Conference volleyball race as it took a 3-0 (25-23, 25-15, 25-22) win over St. Mary's.  The Falcons are now 4-4 in league play with six conference matches left to go. 
 
The Falcons set the tone defensively with 13 block assists and three solo as Jamie Rodell and Melissa Lusk had three assists each.  UTPB finished with 31 kills with just 11 errors in 102 attacks to hit .294 on the night. 
 
UTPB never trailed in the first set as it jumped out to an 11-6 lead after a service ace by Alex Genung but a service error by the Falcons capped a 7-4 run by the Rattlers which closed the gap to 14-13.  St. Mary's was able to tie the set on four different occasions, including 22-22 when Karlie Ortega picked up one of her eight kills on the night, but the Falcons were able to close out the set after an attack error by Kirsten Chapman gave them a one set advantage. 
 
The Falcons completely dominated the second set as they picked up 17 kills with just four errors while holding the Rattlers to a .000 hitting percentage.  The set was close early as St. Mary's took a quick 6-5 lead after an attack error by UTPB.  The Falcons used a 10-4 run to go up 16-10 after Genung picked up one of her seven kills.  They would out-score St. Mary's 15-5 the rest of the way to go up 2-0. 
 
In the third and deciding set, St. Mary's jumped out to a 5-1 lead until the Falcons turned the momentum with a 10-1 run to lead 11-6 and never looked back.  The Falcons would eventually lead 17-10 after another kill by Genung, but St. Mary's managed to come within two (19-17) after a service ace, but would come no closer the rest of the w ay. 
 
Genung, who didn't commit a hitting error, closed out the match with a kill to give UTPB its 12^th win of the season.  Rodell led the team offensively with 10 kills while Keeley Brogdon and Heather Sanchez had nine each. 
 
UTPB will be back in action Saturday when it hosts Texas A&M International at noon in the Falcon Dome.