Box Score


The University of Texas of the Permian Basin rebounded Thursday night after dropping the first two sets in close action, rallying to pick up commanding wins in sets three and four before dropping the fifth set in extra points in a 3-2 loss against St. Mary's in the Falcon Dome.

UTPB jumped out to a lead in the first set, rattling off six straight points after giving up the first point of the night to take a 6-1 lead. St. Mary's fought back through the middle of the set, coming to within 14-13 and would eventually take a 20-17 lead. The Falcons stormed back with five straight points, the last three on kills, to claim a 22-20 advantage, but a 5-1 run from the Rattlers would give them the first set at 25-23.

UTPB started out hot in the second, scoring the first three points of the set. It would later have four straight chances at match point, but a five point run from St. Mary's would give the Rattlers their own chance to win the set. UT-Permian Basin tied it at 25-25 with a kill from Jamie Rodell, but two straight kills from Jenna Paul put St. Mary's up 2-0.

UTPB dominated the third set, breaking a 7-7 tie with seven straight points to jump out to a 14-7 advantage. The Falcons would keep the Rattlers at bay over the rest of the set, never leading by fewer than six points on their way to a 25-16 third set victory.

They kept the momentum up in the fourth with an early 6-2 lead. St. Mary's fought back, eventually taking back the lead at 15-14. UTPB scored four straight after trailing 16-17 to lead 20-17, and would go on to score the final three points of the set to win 25-20 and force a fifth and final set.

Neither team led by more than two points at any one time in the fifth, with UTPB earning a 6-4 early lead. Neither team would be able to break the stalemate towards the end, with the teams alternating points eight straight times before St. Mary's score their second straight point while leading 19-18 to lock up the five set victory.

UTPB led the teams with a .184 to .116 hitting percentage advantage on the night. Jamie Rodell led the Falcons with 17 kills, hitting .357 overall to lead all players in both categories. Melissa Lusk added 10 blocks on the night to go with her 12 kills. Ariel Fralick scored 27 assists on the night and Danae Eckart led the team with 35 digs.

The Falcons return to action in two days, hosting Texas A&M International in Heartland Conference action. Game time is set for noon.