ODESSA, Texas (October 10, 2025) – It was a strong start to the match for the Falcons, who led 15-9 in the first set, but they were unable to keep it going as The University of Texas Permian Basin volleyball team fell 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 26-24) at home vs. The University of Texas at Tyler. The Falcons also had set point in the third set, but could not finish it off after a successful challenge by the Patriots stopped UTPB's momentum in its tracks.

Ashlee Macias led UTPB with eight kills and 11 digs while Nickilah Whatley had six kills and two blocks. Lauren Demuth added five kills and three blocks, Kimaya Webb also had three blocks, Isabel Rodriguez also had 11 digs, and Kierra Freeman had 19 assists and two service aces. Despite the result, UTPB led 5-3 in aces while blocks were tied at seven apiece.

The Falcons had it going early in the first set as they led 3-0 to start after an ace by Freeman and led 10-5 after a solo block by Demuth. A kill by Whatley gave UTPB the previously mentioned 15-9 lead in the opening set, but a 7-0 Patriots' run featuring back-to-back ball-handling errors on the Falcons and ending with four straight UTPB attack errors gave the visiting team new life.

UT Tyler would finish with four blocks in the opening set before being held to just three blocks the rest of the way. When the score was 23-19 late in the opening set, both teams had 11 kills on 30 attempts, but the difference was eight attack errors for the Falcons compared to five for the Patriots. Lastly, Kota Hartman, the reigning Lone Star Conference Newcomer of the Year, earned four of her team's first seven kills of the match en route to a match-high 14 kills.

The Falcons trailed 15-6 in the second set after an 8-0 Patriots' run featuring five kills by UT Tyler and three UTPB attack errors, but a successful challenge by the Falcons gave Macias a kill and kept the Patriots from taking a 10-point lead. At that point in the set, UT Tyler was hitting .360 percent with 10 kills and just one attack error. It would end the set hitting .255 percent with 17 kills.

UTPB battled hard in the third set and nearly forced another. The Falcons led 3-0 for the second time in the match and later led 10-7 after back-to-back kills by Demuth assisted by Emma Gonzalez. However, UT Tyler answered with another big run, this time a 6-0 stretch featuring three kills by Hartman and ending with a service ace by Saige Rivera, the Preseason LSC Setter of the Year who finished with 31 assists and two aces, to make it 13-10.

UTPB answered back with a 6-0 run of its own as three straight UT Tyler attack errors tied it at 13-13, and then the run continued with a kill by Sydney Bradley, a service ace by Demuth and a kill by Macias to make it 16-13 Falcons. UTPB nearly made it a 7-0 run, but an attack error by Hartman was reversed to a kill after the challenge revealed a touch by the Falcons' defense. It would not be the last successful challenge of the final set by the Patriots.

Despite the result on that challenge, UTPB led 20-15 late in the third set after back-to-back kills by Whatley and Webb. The defensive effort was strong for the Falcons as well at that point, holding the Patriots to nine kills but also nine attack errors (.000 percent hitting).

A pair of kills late in the final set by Makenna Grimes seemed to make the Falcons poised to force a fourth set as she gave UTPB a 23-18 lead, but that is where the wheels began to fall off.

UT Tyler cut its five-point deficit to just one point at 23-22 after back-to-back kills by Hartman, but after an attack error by Hartman gave the Falcons set point, it was all Patriots from there. Ahead 24-23, UTPB looked to have the set won on a kill by Macias, but another successful challenge by UT Tyler unfortunately reserved to call to an attacking error and kept the Patriots alive. Then tied at 24-24, UT Tyler did not squander its opportunity as a kill by Audrey Brandon got the Patriots to set point, and after an unsuccessful challenge by UTPB on that play, a block assist by Alyson Robbins and Brandon ended the match. UT Tyler wrapped up the match by scoring eight of the final nine points.

UTPB falls to 5-11 overall and 3-3 in the Lone Star Conference while UT Tyler improves to 9-6 and 5-0. The Patriots have won four of their first five conference matches in 3-0 fashion and have now won the last four matches with the Falcons after dropping their inaugural meeting in 2021. UT Tyler was one of five teams to go undefeated over the opening week of conference play, and remains one of only two undefeated teams in conference play going into this weekend. The Patriots went 18-9 overall in 2024 with a 14-2 record in the LSC. They qualified for their fourth straight NCAA South Central Regional Tournament and finished third in the LSC Standings.

"We were atrocious in the serve and pass game tonight and gave our offense very limited chances against the number one team in the conference," said UTPB Head Coach CJ Allard. "We're not at a point in this program where we have a handful of offensive juggernauts that can make up for such poor passing, so we suffered greatly on a night were our defense held Tyler to its second-lowest efficiency against a Lone Star opponent this season."

UT Permian Basin finishes off the week against another UT System school and a new opponent in the LSC, The University of Texas at Dallas, starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 11, inside the Falcon Dome.