Upperclassmen Isela Murillo and Travana Matthews paced the UT Permian Basin offense Saturday night, but the Falcons fell short in a three-set, 19-25, 23-25, 18-25 loss against Tarleton Thursday night in Odessa.

UTPB had its best chance to take a set midway through the second when a 6-0 rally brought the Falcons back from trailing 14-11 to a 17-14 lead with a pair of kills coming from Netanya Allison. The Falcons led as late as 20-17 in the second, but Tarleton took the lead with five straight points before winning the two-point set.

Matthews led the Falcons with eight kills on the night, hitting .227 on the match with three blocks, two of them solo. Murillo added seven kills with five digs on the evening, while Skyler Friel hit .308 with five kills in the contest. 

Lanai Hurd led UTPB with 11 digs, while Megan Ashton had 10 digs and three service aces. Analise Lucio had 27 assists to go with four kills on .571 hitting.

UTPB is back home in a pair of days, hosting DBU Saturday at noon to close out the weekend.