Box Score UT Permian Basin honored its senior class of 2019 Saturday afternoon, celebrating the careers of Skyler Friel, Travana Mattehws and Kiera Granado prior to their final regular season contest of the year, a 3-1 defeat against West Texas A&M in Odessa.

The Falcons thanked their three seniors for their hard work and dedication during their time at UTPB.

Our three seniors have made a huge impact on not just this team and past UTPB teams, but also on future teams. They bought into my vision for this program when they chose to come to UTPB and have been instrumental in continuing the development of our team culture," said Head Coach Tim Loesch. "Through their hard work and determination they have elevated our program immensely since they arrived at UTPB. Most importantly, they have become better teammates and leaders for us, being a positive influence on those around them and I am very thankful to have coached them."

UTPB fought hard with the Lady Buffs, rebounding after dropping the first set to tie the match at 1-1. The Falcons fought off a late rally by the Lady Buffs to take the second 25-22 on kills by Isela Murillo and Friel for the final two points of the game.

The Falcons played WTAMU tough in the third, keeping up with the Lady Buffs before taking a late 22-21 lead after scoring five of six points with kills from Quincy Strambler and Murilla, and a block by Matthews. The Lady Buffs prevailed by winning four of the last five points of the set to take a 2-1 lead.

UTPB led early in the fourth, taking a 3-1 lead after the first few points. Big runs powered both teams as the Lady Buffs used a big rally for a 13-7 lead. The Falcons fought back late, scoring six straight points to tie the fourth at 23-23 as Marissa Aguilar had a pair of service aces. The Lady Buffs closed out the game with the last two points, winning on a kill by Samantha Jordan.

Matthews led all players in the match, recording 17 kills while hitting .445 with only two errors on 33 attempts. Murillo added a double-double with 13 kills and 15 digs on the day. Analise Lucio had a team-best 26 assists while Erika Lozano had 20 digs to pace the Falcons.

The Falcons will now wait until Sunday before learning who and where they will play Tuesday in the Lone Star Conference Championships. 

Beginning this year, selection for the conference tournament will be determined by a team's record against the other teams in its pod. The league has been broken into three pods of six teams each, and the top four teams in each pod will advance to the conference tournament.  Four teams will receive a bye in the first round of play; each of the three pod winners, and the highest remaining team that did not win its pod.

 Seeding in the tournament will be set by NCAA RPI, which is based upon a team's wins and losses as well as strength of schedule against Division II teams this season.

 Seeds 5-12 will play in a first-round tournament game Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 6 p.m. at local campus sites. Seeds 5, 6, 7, and 8 will all host matches in the first round. The four winners of those matches will advance to the second round of the championships at the #1 seed beginning on Thursday, Nov. 21.