UTPB volleyball dropped its 2015 home conference opener Thursday night, falling in straight sets 3-0 against Newman in Odessa.

The Jets came from behind in the opener after UTPB scored the first three points of the night. The Falcons led 9-6 but found themselves trailing 15-12 after a five out of six point Newman rally. The Jets kept up the lead over the rest of the set and pulled away for a 25-12 victory.

UTPB struggled on the attack in game two, committing nine errors to just three winners as Newman hit .444 to -.207 for UTPB in a 25-8 set.

UTPB came back in the third after falling behind 7-2, rallying within a point at 19-18 on a block by Erica Poe and Caitlyn Guajardo, but Newman closed out its win by taking the final three points of the evenining for a 25-21 third set victory.

Puava Tulau led the Falcons with 10 kills, while Marina Salazar had 11 digs and Ariana Gallardo led the team wtih 16 assists.

The Falcons are back in action at home later this weekend, hosting UA Fort Smith Saturday at 12 p.m.