EDMOND, Okla. (October 4, 2025) – Playing at Oklahoma Christian University for the second time this season, The University of Texas Permian Basin women's volleyball team earned a sweep, 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-17), over the host Eagles.

One of the biggest differences between this match and their first match this season (a 3-0 win for OC) was the presence of outside hitter Ashlee Macias, this time allowing other Falcons to play in their natural positions.

Macias would lead all players with 10 kills and added 11 digs while Nickilah Whatley and Makenna Grimes both contributed with eight kills.

Macias has reached double-digit kills in all six of her matches so far this season, and has four double-doubles.

Like Macias, Freeman notched a double-double with 21 assists and 13 digs. It was her sixth double-double of the year and was her second match in a row this weekend (both wins) dishing out 21 assists.

As a team, UTPB had nine service aces, including three from Freeman and two each by Canyen Rodriguez, Lauren Demuth and Grimes.

UTPB trailed 22-21 late in the very first set, but won it on four straight points with a kill by Macias, an ace by Rodriguez, a kill by Demuth and an Eagles' attack error. The Falcons then parlayed that early momentum into big early leads of 5-0, 7-1, 13-2, 18-3 and 20-4 in the second set. In the final set, UTPB again held early leads at 4-0, 7-2 and 10-4, but this time had to utilize an 8-0 run featuring four OC attack errors and two aces by Demuth to turn a two-point lead (11-9) into a 10-point margin (19-9).

After hitting just .167 percent (38 kills, 18 errors) in the first meeting this season between UTPB and OC, the Falcons improved to hit .202 percent (40 kills, 17 errors) this time around.

"What a fantastic team performance today," said Head Coach CJ Allard. "We had a great match plan and the squad executed their objectives all afternoon long. A dominant service performance and first-class set distribution gave us enough high-probability chances. We must complete this long road trip out in Silver City on Tuesday."

With the win, UTPB (5-9 overall) improves to 3-1 in the Lone Star Conference for the first time since 2022.

In addition to avenging a loss from earlier this season, it was a big win for UTPB as OC (9-4, 2-2) was coming off a 3-2 win over No. 22 Angelo State University on Friday, the program's first win over an AVCA top-25 opponent in its NCAA Division II era. Earlier this season, OC was ranked seventh in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll.

UTPB finishes off a three-match road swing next week in an early-week matchup at Western New Mexico University starting at 7 p.m. Central Time / 6 p.m. Mountain Time on Tuesday, October 7.