ODESSA, Texas (October 19, 2024) – The University of Texas Permian Basin volleyball team recorded 85 digs, saw three players record double-digit kills and had three double-doubles as the Falcons outlasted Western New Mexico University 3-1 (25-20, 22-25, 25-15, 25-12) on Saturday afternoon inside the Falcon Dome.

Kennedi Wright had 16 kills, hit .317 percent, and added 15 digs while freshman Ashlee Macias tallied 16 kills to go along with 10 digs, both of which were career-highs.

Gloria Geurin recorded 10 kills; Chyra Thompson had nine kills, four blocks, and hit .389 percent; and freshman Lauren Demuth had seven kills to go along with seven digs.

Jenna Gray had 25 assists and 10 digs while freshman Kierra Freeman was not far behind with a career-best 23 assists.

Lastly Gabby Gregorski had a career-high 31 digs in the four-setter, breaking her previous career-best of 30 digs sets in the Falcons' second match this season, which was five sets.

In the first set, an 8-0 run with Gregorski serving set the Falcons up big time, but UTPB needed to dig down deep to pull out the victory as WNMU turned a 10-point deficit (21-11) into a three-point margin (21-18) following a 7-0 run.

Kills by Macias got the Falcons to 22 and 23 points before kills from Geurin gave the Falcons set point and then the first-set victory.

UTPB led the whole way in the opening set, but the second set saw 11 ties and six lead changes.

Late in the second set, three straight kills by Geurin, Wright and Thompson gave the Falcons a 19-18 lead, and then another kill by Wright made it 20-19, but the Mustangs closed the set on a 6-2 run as the set ended with back-to-back UTPB attack errors.

UTPB, however, bounced back in dominant fashion in the final two sets as a 5-0 run with Jadyn Gillespie serving made it 20-12 in the third set and a 9-0 run with Gray serving made it 21-7 in the fourth set.

As a team, the Falcons hit .370 or better in each of the final two sets.

Head Coach CJ Allard said, "I'm proud of how the team rallied around a new system. Gabby still led a fantastic defensive effort while Jenna and Kierra did a great job running a new offense. We'll get back in the lab Monday afternoon to continue making the necessary tweaks to strengthen our unit."

With the win, UTPB improves to 11-6 overall and 4-4 in the Lone Star Conference while WNMU falls to 6-14 and 2-6.

On Wednesday, October 23 (6 p.m.), UTPB will host its fourth home match in its last five matches, welcoming Angelo State University into the Falcon Dome.