UTPB volleyball took an early 1-0 lead and rallied to later tie the match at 2-2, but were unable to earn the win in the fifth and final set as they were defeated 3-2 at home Thursday night in a Heartland Conference contest against Lubbock Christian.

The Falcons used an 11 point in 12 attempt ralling halfway through the first set to double up the Lady Chaps 22-11 and lock up the opening set 25-17.

Following a second set loss in which Lubbock Christian controlled the action for a large majority of the set, the Falcons took the lead 19-16 in the third behind five straight points on three kills, two of them by Terra Peil. The Falcons later scored four of five to serve for match point leading 24-21 on a block my Melissa Lusk and Morgann Davis, but the Lady Chaps held off UTPB to tie the set at 24-24, and took an overall 2-1 lead with a 26-24 win on five straight points to end the set.

UTPB rallied needing to win the fourth to stay alive, scoring six in a row off of five kills to lead 12-9. The Falcons eventually upped the advantage to 16-11, points that came in handy as the Lady Chaps chipped into the UTPB advantage and eventually took back possession of the lead at 22-21. The Falcons won the next two points on a kill by Lusk and ace by Ariel Fralick, but LCU followed suit with two points of its own to serve for the match at 24-23. Each team responded with a kill to leave Lubbock Christian serving for the match, but the Falcons got back to back blocks by Morgann Davis/Lusk and Ryley Carman/Peil to serve for the match, and a kill by Peil on their first match point of the set pushed the match to a fifth set with a 27-25 win in the fourth.

Lubbock Christian started out hot in the fifth, winning the first four points of the abbreviated set. But UTPB kept the fifth close, winning the next three before later scoring four of five points to close within one at 12-11. The Falcons tied the set three points later at 13-13 behind two more blocks. Each team followed with a single point to take the 5th to 14-14, but LCU came out with the win on two straight points to end the night with a 16-14 win in the fifth.

Lusk led all Falcons on the evening with 15 kills, and was followed by Brogdon with 13 and Carman with 10. Ariana Gallardo had a team-high 27 assists, and Taylor Harmon led all players for both teams with a match-high 39 digs. The Falcons had 15 team blocks to just five by Lubbock Christian, led by Lusk with a pair of solo blocks and six assists.

The Falcons are back at home next week, hosting McMurray at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 14.