Box Score

The University of Texas of the Permian Basin volleyball team wasted little time in putting away Newman Thursday night, earning a decisive 25-15, 25-22 and 25-14 win in Heartland Conference action.

UTPB pulled ahead on four straight points early in the first, taking advantage of three Newman errors and a Kill from Melissa Lusk to take a 9-5 lead. The Falcons built their advantage up to 20-11 by way of a seven point run and closed out the set on a kill from Jamie Rodell for the 10 point win.

UTPB had to fight in set two after falling behind 4-1. The Falcons quickly pulled even with three straight points, but the teams remained close until the UTPB scored four in a row to lead 15-12. The Falcons were able to hold the lead for the remainder of the second set, leading by as many as five at 20-15 and held off any attempt by Newman to get back into the set at match point as Lusk ended the set at 25-22.

Newman was able to hang close early in the third and final set, but the Falcons used an eight point run that featured five kills, three from Keeley Brogdon, and a service ace to break a 5-5 tie and lead 13-5. A 6-of-7 point run  pushed their advantage out to 19-7, and the teams traded points out the remainder of the set until an attack error by Newman ended the match with an 11 point third set win.

Brogdon led all players on the night with 12 kills while Lusk led everyone with a .438 hitting percentage. Ariel Fralick led UTPB with 16 assists while Gallardo collected 15, and Danae Eckart scored 21 digs on the night.

The Falcons close out the regular season this weekend, hosting Arkansas-Ft. Smith Saturday afternoon at noon.