The UT Permian Basin Volleyball record book was nearly rewritten after monster performances Wednesday night by the duo of Analise Lucio and Aquincia Strambler, both coming just shy of setting new program records.  Lucio had a career-high 58 assists while Strambler had 25 kills in a five-set thriller.
 
"We played great and put up a tremendous fight against a great team on their home court," said Head Coach Tim Loesch.  "I think the match reflected our season, started a little slow and finished strong.  Couple of years ago we were just happy to make the conference tournament and now we're heartbroken.  I want to thank our captains Analise (Lucio), Quincy (Strambler), and Haleigh (Robinson) for being great leaders off the court through this season."
 
The Falcons were first to grab a lead of more than a point in the first set, but the Lady Lions answered back with a 4-0 run.  Momentum swung towards the Lady Lions as they started to pull away, but the Falcons refused to backdown.  A 4-1 Falcon run brought them back within a point late in the set, but it wasn't enough as the Lady Lions took the set 25-21.
 
It was the Lady Lions that started the second set strong, taking the first three points to build a lead.  The Falcons didn't blink.  After trailing 7-4, the Falcons scored nine of the next 12 points to take the lead back.  They didn't let up with a three and four-point run to clinch the set and tie things at one.
 
The Falcons started the third set slowly, falling behind by as many as nine.  They chipped away at the deficit before closing the set on a huge run.  A 4-1 run got things started before the Falcons scored five-straight facing set point.  Strambler showed why she's one of the best in the LSC during the run with three-straight kills before the Lady Lions took the final point and the set 25-21.
 
Needing to take the fourth set, the Falcons started strong.  A pair of errors along with kills by Mayce Barker and Cassandra Rother pushed the Falcons in front early.  The teams traded points before the Falcons regained the momentum with a 4-1 run.  The Lady Lions closed the lead down to 19-17 before the Falcons finished off the set with a six-point run.  A pair of kills from Taurie Magee along with kills by Barker and Marissa Aguilar forced a decisive fifth set.
 
Both teams played nearly perfect in the fifth set, combining for only one error.  The Falcons held the lead early but a 7-0 run by the Lady Lions swung momentum the other way.  A pair of errors and a kill by Strambler got the Falcons back into it, but the Lady Lions took the final two points and the match 15-11.
 
Rother had her best night as a Falcon with a season-high 12 kills along with three blocks.  Magee added 11 kills.  Five Falcons finished in double figure digs with Daylee Doggett leading the way with 29.  Erika Lozano finished with 19, Lanai Hurd with 17, Lucio with 14, and Isela Murillo had 11. 

The Falcons were only lower seed in the LSC Playoffs to advance to Wednesday and they were the only lower seed to take a set on Wednesday night.
 
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