EDMOND, Okla. (November 15, 2024) – Needing wins in each of its two matches this week to secure a spot in the Lone Star Conference Tournament, The University of Texas Permian Basin women's volleyball team responded to the must-win scenario, withstood a wild second set, and then pulled out the win in the fifth set to defeat Oklahoma Christian University 3-2 (25-21, 31-29, 21-25, 11-25, 15-10) on the road on Friday night. It was only UTPB's third five-set match of the season, and was its first in conference action.

After entering the weekend controlling its own destiny despite being ninth in the LSC standings, UTPB (15-9 overall, 8-7 LSC) is now just one win away from securing the No. 7 seed for the LSC Tournament next week.

UTPB started the match off strong and led 3-0 after a service ace by Ashlee Macias.

The second block in the first five points of the match by Chyra Thompson made it 4-1, and from there the two teams traded leads six times until a 4-0 UTPB run featuring an OC service error, back-to-back kills by Grace Feddern assisted by Jenna Gray, and an assisted block by Feddern and Lauren Demuth made it 20-16.

A kill by Thompson made it 22-18 and a kill by Macias made it 23-19, but it was then 23-21 before another service error by the Eagles.

After recording an ace earlier in the set, Macias ended the opening set with an ace to put the Falcons up one set to zero.

UTPB had four blocks as a team in the first set and had three service aces while OC committed six service errors. Macias also added four digs defensively while Thompson had three blocks.

Macias stepped up again early in the second set, following up a kill with her third service ace of the match before a kill by Logan Terrazas gave the Falcons an early 5-1 lead.

A pair of solo blocks by Thompson, her second and third solo blocks of the night, were followed by a kill by Gloria Geurin to make it an 8-2 Falcons' advantage.

That forced a timeout by the Eagles, but Terrazas and Demuth were right there when play resumed and came up with another block to make it 9-2.

UTPB's largest lead of the second set was eight points (11-3) after another kill by Terrazas and a solo block by G. Geurin on an attack by her sister, Katy Geurin, who is a junior outside hitter at OC.

OC battled back to within three points of the Falcons (17-14) before a kill by Thompson and a service ace by Kennedi Wright got the Falcons' lead back to six points (20-14) and forced the second Eagles' timeout of the set.

OC, however, would not go down easily and with three straight points, made it just a one-point score (22-21).

UTPB was able to turn to its calling card, defense, to get the next point on another assisted block by Feddern and Demuth, and then two points later a kill by Feddern gave the Falcons set point at 24-22.

After a kill and an ace by the Eagles to tie it at 24-24, another kill by Feddern gave UTPB a second set point, but the set was far from over.

Down 26-25 after a UTPB timeout, a kill by Thompson assisted by Canyen Rodriguez kept things going.

Then down 27-26, OC's Sophie Mae Smith looked to have a service ace to end it, but the Falcons' defense miraculously kept the ball in play off of the basketball goals and ultimately won the point on an Eagles' attack error.

Kills by G. Geurin twice kept the set alive for UTPB, and then a kill by Macias made it 30-29. The final point came as an attack across the court by Eagles' freshman Chloe Jones was nearly in on the sideline, but was instead called out, giving the Falcons a 2-0 lead.

Through just two sets, Thompson led UTPB with 8.5 points while Feddern, Macias and G. Geurin each had seven points.

12 ties into the third set, the score was 20-20 until a kill by Annie Davis, an ace by Davis and a kill by Jones gave the Eagles a three-point lead and brought about a Falcons' timeout. Three points later, a solo block by OC's K. Geurin forced the fourth set.

OC continued its momentum with leads of 7-1, 11-2, 14-4, 17-5, 20-7 and 24-10 in the fourth set, the latter being the largest lead of the match for either team.

OC hit .526 percent with 10 kills, zero errors and five service aces in the fourth set.

With a raucous home crowd harassing the visiting bench, UTPB tried to regain its footing to start the fifth set as two hard swings and subsequent kills by Thompson made it early leads of 3-1 and 4-2 for the Falcons.

An assisted block by Terrazas and Demuth made it 5-2 Falcons before the Eagles tied it at 5-5 after back-to-back kills by K. Geurin.

A service error stopped the 3-0 OC run, and then a kill by UTPB's G. Geurin followed by an Eagles' attack error made it 8-5.

After the teams switched sides, the student section followed, but Gray stepped back to serve for UTPB and delivered a perfectly placed ace to the far corner of the court to make it 9-5 and force the Eagles to call timeout.

A kill by Cassandra Rother made it 10-6, but a kill and a solo block by OC's K. Geurin made it 10-8.

UTPB maintained its composure as a kill by Demuth made it 11-8, a kill by Rother made it 12-9, and then a service ace by Rodriguez made it 13-9.

Just two points away from the win after a final timeout by OC, an attack error into the net by the Eagles' Avery Cole made it 14-10. OC challenged the play looking for a net infraction on the Falcons, but the call stood.

One point away from keeping its postseason hopes alive, an attack error by OC's Annie Davis was all she wrote.

The Eagles outhit the Falcons on the evening, .128 to .106, but a fifth-set .222 to .043 hitting advantage for UTPB proved to be the difference as OC finished with six attack errors in the final set.

For the Falcons, G. Geurin, the reigning LSC Offensive Player of the Week, led the way with 11 kills and 11 digs. It was her third match in a row with double-digit kills. It was also her seventh double-double of the season and second double-double in the last three matches.

Thompson, who was the LSC Offensive Player of the Week earlier in the season, finished with eight kills, a career-high nine total blocks, and had four solo blocks.

Feddern had her best match of the season, finishing with a career-high of eight kills while adding three assisted blocks for a season-high in blocks.

Demuth had five kills and four block assists while Macias had five kills, a career-high three aces and reached double-digits in digs for the third match in a row with 10.

Terrazas had four kills and five block assists while Rother matched her with four kills and hit .429 percent.

Gabby Gregorski tied for the match-lead with 17 digs and added five assists while both of UTPB's setters had 18 assists. Gray had 18 assists and 11 digs and Rodriguez had 18 assists to go along with seven digs. Gray, like G. Geurin, had her second double-double in the last three matches. She leads the team with 10 double-doubles on the year.

Despite winning the match, UTPB trailed in points (74.0-69.0), kills (54-47), aces (10-7), assists (53-43) and digs (65-63).

The Falcons did however, for the second match in a row, put together a season-high of 15 blocks as a team.

UTPB Head Volleyball Coach CJ Allard said, "One of the great things about coaching in the Lone Star is this late in the season, you still get great weather, which made the evening-long rollercoaster ride a bit more bearable than if we also had to overcome the elements as well. We talk about everyone being ready for their number to be called, and all 16 were ready to contribute regardless of the situation. We need one more great performance tomorrow to secure the No. 7 seed and our first tournament berth since 2021."

Following Friday's match against Oklahoma Christian, UTPB will now head south and will need a win over Cameron University tomorrow (Nov. 16) to clinch its place in the LSC Tournament. The Falcons and the Aggies square off starting at 2 p.m. in Lawton, Oklahoma.

Heading into the final day of the regular season, UTPB, Oklahoma Christian and St. Mary's University all find themselves tied for seventh place in the conference standings at 8-7. All three teams are playing an opponent that ranks in the bottom five in the league.