ODESSA, Texas (October 31, 2025) – The Falcons took on one of the top teams not just in the Lone Star Conference, but in NCAA Division II as No. 14 nationally-ranked West Texas A&M University defeated The University of Texas Permian Basin women's volleyball team 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-15) on Halloween night inside the Falcon Dome.

The high-powered offense for WT (19-4 overall, 11-1 LSC), which did not play a single substitute the entire match, only got stronger as the match went on, hitting .171 percent in the opening set before moving up to .250 percent in the second set and .306 percent in the third. The Lady Buffs also registered 12-plus kills in all three sets, more than the Falcons had in any of their sets, and totaled 16 kills in both the first set and the third set.

With the win, WT extends its current winning streak to 11 straight matches and has not lost since a 3-2 upset win at home by Texas A&M University-Kingsville on September 26. The Lady Buffs were coming off a 3-2 home win vs. first-place Lubbock Christian University, breaking a 15-match winning streak for the Lady Chaparrals in the process.

UTPB (8-14, 6-6) brought the energy and fight early on, getting a big dig by Kierra Freeman that led to a kill by Makenna Grimes to make it a one-point deficit (9-8) early in the first set. It was later 16-12 after an attack error and an unsuccessful challenge by the Lady Buffs, but that would be the only point for UTPB during what was a 6-1 WT run to take a 19-12 advantage after back-to-back setter dumps by Bromli Watson assisted by Taytum Stow. UTPB closed the gap to 24-20 after back-to-back WT attack errors, but a kill by Stow assisted by Watson gave the Lady Buffs the 1-0 set lead. WT had four players with four kills in the opening set.

Ashlee Macias had three early kills for UTPB in the first set, and she again had three early kills in the second set, giving UTPB an 8-6 lead with her sixth kill of the match. However, WT would respond with a 7-0 run featuring at one point, three straight kills by Currie Marusak assisted by Watson, and ending with a service ace by Stow to make it a 13-8 Lady Buffs' lead. The run would expand to an 11-1 margin and the lead would expand to 17-9 following back-to-back kills by Marusak.

UTPB was held to 0.00 percent hitting (10 kills, 10 errors) in the second set while Marusak would finish with eight kills in the second set and already had her double-double secured with 12 kills and 10 digs through two sets.

In the final set, Bentleigh Bundy attempted to provide a spark for the Falcons, delivering a kill for the first point of the set and then doing so three points later to tie the set at 2-2. However, a 6-0 Lady Buffs' run featuring three kills by Kaycee Cavanaugh later on in the set made it two sets in a row that WT would hold a 17-9 lead. Cavanaugh would also record a kill on the final point of the night, giving her five in the set and 10 for the match.

Marusak would finish the match with 14 kills and 12 digs on .407 percent hitting while Watson recorded 34 assists.

For UTPB, Macias finished with eight kills and nine digs while Freeman had 20 assists and eight digs. Lauren Demuth had five kills on .308 percent hitting through the first two sets and finished the match with six kills.

"We're not into moral victories, but we did more right tonight than the box score might indicate," spoke UTPB Head Coach CJ Allard. "We held the reigning LSC Freshman of the Year to her second-worst offensive performance of the season and a D1 transfer middle hitter to the second-worst offensive performance of her season as well. We still have massive strides we need to take offensively to hang with the top defensive teams in the conference, so hopefully we'll start that tomorrow against a hungry Eastern New Mexico squad."

The players Coach Allard was referring to were Cavanaugh, the 2024 LSC Co-Freshman of the Year who hit just .034 percent with 10 kills and nine attack errors against the Falcons, and Parker Gladhill, a transfer from the University of North Texas who hit -.500 percent with zero kills and two attack errors.

It will be an important next match tomorrow as the Falcons look to get right back to above .500 in conference play. UTPB hosts Eastern New Mexico University at 2 p.m. on Saturday, November 1. The Falcons will be in search of much-needed wins over the final two weeks of the regular season as they vie for one of eight available sports in the LSC Volleyball Championship Tournament.