ODESSA, Texas (August 26, 2024) – Heading into the 2024 UT Permian Basin volleyball season, the Falcons had three student-athletes named as Lone Star Conference Players to Watch while as a team, UTPB tied for ninth place in the LSC Preseason Poll.

UTPB's preseason players to watch included senior middle hitter Chyra Thompson, senior defensive specialist Gabby Gregorski, and junior setter Canyen Rodriguez. It is the second straight year being named to the preseason watch list for both Thompson and Gregorski.

2023 marked the first season with the Falcons for all three players. Thompson led the team with a .297 hitting percentage, ranked second with 83 blocks, and was third with 191 kills and 210.5 points. She set a career-high with eight blocks and tied her career-best with 12 kills vs. Oklahoma Christian (Sept. 15). Thompson helped UTPB finish among the top-five in the LSC for block assists, total blocks and total blocks per set last season. The Falcons also ranked 17th in the country for total blocks per set (2.39).

In addition to leading the team in digs (409), Gregorski averaged an impressive 4.26 digs per set, ranked second on the team in sets played (96), reached double digits in digs 20 times, and had 20 or more digs in seven matches.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, saw action in nine matches last season and landed fourth on the team with 53 assists. While playing in two matches in the Iceman Invitational on September 9, Rodriguez dished out 14 assists against St. Mary's and then added 13 assists while serving up four aces against Sul Ross State.

In the preseason poll, defending LSC Tournament champion West Texas A&M was picked to win the 2024 volleyball title. The Lady Buffs totaled 674 points, including 23 of 41 possible first place votes, to outdistance DBU as the 2024 preseason favorite. DBU collected 15 first place votes and 665 points. Last season, the two teams tied for the LSC season title with each posting a 14-2 mark in league play.

West Texas A&M finished the 2023 season at 33-4 advancing to the NCAA Division II championship match and a national runner-up finish. DBU posted a 24-8 record and finished the year as semifinalist in the Division II South Central Regional.

Angelo State compiled 610 points with two first place votes for the No. 3 spot in the preseason poll while Texas A&M-Kingsville was voted fourth with 562 points and one first place vote. UT Tyler completed the preseason top-five totaling 536 points.

Texas Woman's (481), Lubbock Christian (430) and Texas A&M International (418) list in the preseason six-seven-eight spots, respectively. St. Mary's and UT Permian Basin tied at No. 9 with 349 points. Oklahoma Christian, St. Edward's, Cameron, Eastern New Mexico, Western New Mexico, Midwestern State and Sul Ross State completed the predicted order of the 2024 LSC volleyball standings.

New UTPB Head Volleyball Coach CJ Allard said, "It's always an exciting day when the conference preseason poll and player awards are announced and all the credit should be given to West Texas A&M's program for earning the nod as the favorite heading into the 2024 season and to Delaney Fuller, Taytum Stow, and Emma Lade for being recognized as standouts in such a prestigious volleyball conference. We are eager to see the end results of our pursuit of daily excellence this fall."

The LSC opens its 42nd season of volleyball with a new member among the 17 teams – Sul Ross State – with schedules opening the September 5-7 weekend. The Lone Star Conference Tournament is slated November 21-23 hosted by the No. 1 seeded team. NCAA Division II Championship play begins with regionals December 5-8 and the final rounds December 12-14 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The Falcons will be on the road when they kick off the season, taking on the University of Central Oklahoma and Fort Lewis College on Friday, September 6, at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Kathleen Brasfield Invitational. The next day, the Falcons will face New Mexico Highlands University at 8 a.m. and Emanual University (Ga.) at 2 p.m. All four matches will be hosted by Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FALCONS 2024 SCHEDULE
2024 LSC Volleyball Preseason Poll/Players to Watch