Box Score UTPB volleyball suffered a 3-0 (22-25, 23-25, 16-25) loss in Heartland Conference action to St. Edward's at home Thursday night.

The Falcons stuck with the Hilltoppers in the opening set and held early large leads in sets two and three. UTPB tied St. Edward's twice at 11-11 and 12-12 before the visitors went on a 4-0 run to lead 16-12 in the first set. The Falcons came back with three straight points, getting to 17-16 on a block by Morgann Davis before St. Edward's served for the set wiht a 24-18 lead. The Falcons rattled off four straight points but couldn't maintain momentum as St. Edward's took the first 25-22.

UTPB came out to start the second set with seven straight points after St. Edward's won the first point to claim a 7-1 lead, but gave up the next six to lead the Hilltoppers 7-6. Neither team was able to break away by more than three points over the rest of the set, but St. Edward's broke a 23-23 tie at the end with a pair of kills to take the second 25-23.

The Falcons had a hot start again in the third set when they scored five of the first six points, but St. Edward's again rallied for an 11-point run to capture a 12-5 lead that UTPB was unable to recover from in a nine-point third set loss.

Ryley Carman led the Falcons with nine kills on the evening as Hannah Rauch led all players with 11 kills for the Hilltoppers. Ariana Gallardo had a match-high 27 assists for UTPB and Taylor Harmon had a team-best 18 digs.

The Falcons are back on the court next week, hitting the road for a Tuesday night contest at Wayland Baptist.