ODESSA, Texas (November 9, 2024) – After dropping a rough first set for the fourth match in a row, the University of Texas Permian Basin volleyball team went on to defeat St. Edward's University 3-1 (22-25, 25-14, 25-15, 25-22) on Saturday during the Falcons' Senior Day.

UTPB (14-9 overall, 7-7 Lone Star Conference) has now won consecutive matches in conference play for the first time this season.

It was Senior Day for No. 1 Chyra Thompson, No. 2 Gabby Gregorski, No. 12 Logan Terrazas, No. 14 April Egwu, No. 17 Aaliyah Gray, No. 20 Gloria Geurin, and No. 22 Cassandra Rother.

Geurin led the Falcons with a great all-around Senior Day, recording 12 kills, six blocks, five digs and three service aces.

Thompson had seven kills on .357 percent hitting and added a career-high with five solo blocks. It was her second match in a row with five total blocks.

Terrazas had six kills for the second match in a row and hit .357 percent as well while Gregorski had 21 digs.

Among the notable non-seniors in action, freshman Ashlee Macias had a double-double for the second match in a row as she recorded 12 digs and 10 kills on .364 percent hitting. In addition, junior Canyen Rodriguez led the Falcons in assists for the second match in a row with 22 while fellow-junior Grace Feddern had a season-high five kills on .500 percent hitting.

UTPB held the Hilltoppers to .000 percent hitting in each of the second and third sets and kept its opponent to under .100 percent hitting for the seventh time this season.

The Falcons also finished with a season-high of 15 blocks as a team.

Entering the final week of the regular season, the Falcons lead the Lone Star Conference in opponents' hitting percentage (.158) and are also first in blocks per set (2.37).

St. Edward's (10-15, 2-12) benefitted from five service aces in its victorious first set, but then each of UTPB's first three points of the second set came thanks to a service error by the Hilltoppers.

The second set saw the Falcons finish with five blocks while St. Edward's committed four service errors for the second set in a row.

It was the Gloria Geurin show to start the third set as she had two solo blocks and two kills to stake the Falcons to a 4-0 lead.

In the fourth set, it was Feddern who made her imprint felt on the match with four kills and an assisted block, including a kill on the final point of the match.

Head Coach CJ Allard said, "I am so happy for Gloria, Aaliyah, Logan, Cass, April, Chrya, and Gabby. Not only did we get our first Senior Day victory during their careers, but they all contributed in our team success. We came into this weekend controlling our own destiny for a postseason berth, and we exit these last two home matches with that reality intact. We've got a big week ahead of us."

UTPB moves a half a match up on St. Mary's University (14-10, 6-7) for the eighth and final spot for the LSC Tournament.

Up next will be a match against seventh-place Oklahoma Christian University (19-9, 8-6), which fell 3-0 at No. 13 Angelo State University on Saturday to drop to just one match ahead of the Falcons.

The matchup between OC and UTPB will come at 6 p.m. on Friday, November 15, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

A win would give the Falcons a tiebreaker over the Eagles, their second potential tiebreak gained in as many weeks.

The top eight teams in the Lone Star Conference regular season standings at season's end will qualify for the Lone Star Conference Volleyball Championship Tournament on Nov. 21-23. The No. 1 overall seed will host the eight-team bracket.

The winners of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) and Lone Star Conference (LSC) Championship Tournaments will receive the two available automatic qualifying bids into the South Central Regional Tournament, while the final six teams of the eight-team field will be at-large bids determined by the NCAA selection committee. That 2024 NCAA Division II South Central Regional Tournament is scheduled for Dec. 5-7 at the No. 1 seed's host site.