SAN ANGELO – For the first time in school history, The University of Texas of the Permian Basin beat Abilene Christian, taking a 3-2 marathon victory over the Wildcats after dropping a 3-0 decision to Angelo State.
The Falcons (5-4) dropped the first set 25-21 before bouncing back to win the second game 25-18. The Wildcats took a 2-1 set advantage after escaping with a 34-32 third set victory, but UTPB returned the favor with a 26-24 win in the fourth set and clinched the match with a 15-6 victory in the fifth and deciding match.
Four players finished in double-digit kills with
Alex Genung leading the way with 17 while digging up a season-high 23 attacks for her third double-double of the season.
Melissa Lusk and
Jamie Rodell each had 13 kills, while
Heather Sanchez tallied a season-high 11.
In the first game, UTPB led 15-10 after a Wildcat attack error, but a 5-1 run by Abilene Christian pulled it within one (16-15). The Falcons would hold a 21-20 advantage after a kill by
Terra Peil, but three Wildcat kills and two UTPB errors gave Abilene Christian five-straight points and a 1-0 set advantage.
The second set saw the Falcons jump out to an 11-7 lead which they would not lose the rest of the way. ACU tied the set on two different occasions, but a
Ryley Carman kill started a 7-2 run, giving the Falcons a 20-15 lead which they would eventually ride to the second set victory.
In the third set, the Falcons 14-9, but a kill by Sara Oxford eventually tied the set at 15. The game would be tied 15 more times after that until the Wildcats finally scored the deciding two points of the game for the 34-32 set victory. ACU picked up 23 kills in the set while the Falcons tallied 14 with eight errors. UTPB did have 10 block assists, three of which came from Rodell. For the match, the Falcons had a season-high 25 block assists, led by Rodell with seven and Lusk and Peil with four.
Just like the first three sets, the two teams exchanged points with the Falcons taking a 14-11 advantage before ACU tied it at 16. The Wildcats eventually took a 20-18 lead when Jennie Hutt had back-to-back kills. She would go on to finish with 14 kills with just two errors and was one of three Wildcats to finish with at least 10 kills on the night.
An ace by Lusk gave the Falcons a 23-22 lead they would not lose the rest of the set. Oxford registered a kill to tie the game at 24 before
Alex Genung made it 25-24 with a kill down the line. An attack error by Rachel Riley finally gave the Falcons a 26-24 lead and tied match with two sets each.
UTPB jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the fifth and final set and rode that momentum to a 15-6 set victory. The Falcons had their best set hitting percentage of the match (.400) collecting eight kills with just two errors with Sanchez picking up three.
The Falcons will host Sul Ross on Tuesday before opening Heartland Conference play on Thursday when St. Edward's comes to the Falcon Dome for a 7 p.m. contest.
