UT Permian Basin rallied after having a match slip through its fingers, downing Southern Arkansas in straight sets 25-18, 25-17, 25-20 after having lost in five sets to Black Hills State 25-17, 25-16, 19-25, 14-25, 9-25.

The Falcons looked to be cruising against the Yellow Jackets, winning the first two sets by a combined 17-point lead. But the UTPB attack struggled, hitting negative in the third set as BHSU took over the match with three straight set wins.

Caitlyn Guajardo led the Falcons with 14 kills in the match, hitting .195 in the five sets. Charlesia Jones hit .175 with 13 kills. Kiera Granado led all players with 46 assists and Sarah Vasquez led five players with double digit digs with 22.

UTPB came out on fire in its second match of the day, hitting .364 as a team with 15 kills and just three errors in the opening set against Southern Arkansas. UT Permian Basin ended up hitting .274 as a team for the match to  just .043 for SAU, led by Guajardo with nine kills. Jones added eight in the three-set contest, with Valerie Pua hitting seven winners.

Granado led all players with 20 assists, and Vasquez had a match-high 17 digs.

The Falcons close out their three games at the Hilltopper Classic with a noon match against host St. Edward's.