ODESSA, Texas (October 12, 2024) – Everything was working for The University of Texas Permian Basin volleyball team on Saturday as the Falcons rolled past Midwestern State University, 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-14), inside the Falcon Dome.

After hitting its lowest percentage of the season last time out, UTPB hit .371 percent against Midwestern, its four-highest hitting percentage so far this season, and had a season-high nine service aces.

Four of those aces came from Jenna Gray, while Kennedi Wright and Canyen Rodriguez each added a pair of aces.

Gray started the match with an ace as UTPB led the whole way in all three sets and was hot early with four aces and three blocks in the opening set.

Offensively, the Falcons hit .406 percent and .500 percent in the first two sets, respectively, before turning to the defense to hold the Mustangs to -.081 percent hitting in the third set.

Gloria Geurin was the star of the match for the Falcons, finishing with 13 kills, committing just one attack error and posting a career-best .632 hitting percentage. She also added 12 digs for her second double-double in the last three matches.

Wright had nine kills for the second match in a row and did not commit a single attack error en route to hitting .500 percent, her second-best attack percentage of the season. Wright also added six digs and three block assists.

Cassandra Rother added seven kills, her fifth straight match with at least seven kills; and Lauren Demuth had four kills, hit a career-high .667 percent, and led the team with a match-high five blocks.

Demuth, a freshman from Mansfield, Texas, currently ranks third in the Lone Star Conference with 1.11 blocks per set.

Gray had 23 assists for the second match in a row, Rodriguez had 11 assists, and Gabby Gregorski had 13 digs.

CJ Allard spoke after his 10th win as the head coach of the Falcons, "Coming into today, we really challenged our outsides to find a way to add more offensive value. Glo and Kennedi could not have embraced that challenge more and it showed in our overall hitting percentage and with how comfortable our setters were running the offense. I hope today's success motivates us to reach for even higher levels of efficiency moving forward."

UTPB improved to 10-5 overall and .500 in the Lone Star Conference (3-3) while Midwestern State fell to 7-10 and 1-5. The Falcons have swept their opponent six times so far this season after recording eight sweeps in their 17 wins last year in 2023.

The last 11 matches between UTPB and MSU have been decided in straight sets, including the last seven by the Falcons.

In addition, with the win, UTPB draws to within one match of MSU in the all-time series (12-11) between the teams and is now 4-4 at home against the Mustangs.

After limiting the Mustangs to .117 percent hitting, the Falcons continue to lead the LSC and rank in the top-25 in NCAA Division II in opponents' hitting percentage (.136 percent). UTPB also leads the conference and ranks in the top-25 in the nation with 2.41 blocks per set.

UT Permian Basin takes to the road at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, October 16, to play at Lubbock Christian University before returning home for its third home match in a four-match span against Western New Mexico University on Saturday, October 19.