It was the usual suspects carrying the load for UT Permian Basin Volleyball Friday night in the Lone Star Conference semifinals.
Aquincia Strambler led the offense with 18 kills, followed by 14 by
Taurie Magee.
Analise Lucio had a game high 42 assists while
Daylee Doggett led all players with 26 digs. It wasn't enough to overcome a hot swinging night by No. 4 seed West Texas A&M, ending the season in four sets.
The Falcons struggled to find a rhythm early in the first set. They kept pace with the Lady Buffs before an 8-1 run put them in a hole. The offense started to get it going late in the set though. Back-to-back kills by
Isela Murillo and
Taurie Magee followed by a pair of Lady Buff errors gave the Falcons life, but it was too late.
The offense carried over into the second set, but the Lady Buffs led early. The Falcons made a run thanks to kills by Magee and Murillo and a block by
Chandra Reed and
Stephanie Sanchez. The Lady Buffs had the set in their sights before another offensive run by the Falcons.
Aquincia Strambler started the run with a kill before back-to-back Lady Buff errors got the Falcons back in the set, but the run was again too late, and the Falcons trailed two sets to none.
Just like last Saturday the Falcons needed to come-from-behind, starting with taking the third set. A block followed by a Sanchez ace and a kill by Reed gave the Falcons a three-point lead. Back-to-back kills by Murillo and Strambler gave the Falcons their biggest lead of the night. After the Lady Buffs answered with a run of their own to retake the lead, the Falcons responded with a 6-1 run to take control of the set. The Falcons led by as many as five before Murillo clinched the set 25-21.
The Lady Buffs jumped out to the early lead in the fourth. They pushed the lead to as many six before the Falcons cut the deficit to one. That's as close as they would get as the Lady Buffs closed out the set 25-22 to take the set.
Magee finished with her 14 kills on a .560 hitting percentage and no errors.
Isela Murillo recorded a double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs. Sanchez finished the night with 10 digs.
Download the UTPB Athletics App to follow your favorite Falcon teams all season long.