ODESSA, Texas (November 1, 2025) – Despite a program record 35 kills by sophomore Ashlee Macias, The University of Texas Permian Basin volleyball team had to overcome a 2-1 deficit and dig down deep to pull out a 3-2 (21-25, 26-24, 24-26, 25-15, 15-12) home win over Eastern New Mexico University on Saturday inside the Falcon Dome.

Macias' 35 kills broke the previous UTPB single-match record of 27 kills set by Amithy Henry vs. Texas A&M International University on September 13, 2007. In addition to breaking the program record, it was the most kills in a match in the LSC so far this season. Macias had previously reached 23 kills twice this season, which was one kill short of cracking the top-five in program history. Macias also finished the match against the Greyhounds hitting an awesome .456 percent on 57 swings, and added 16 digs for her seventh double-double of the season.

Macias was one of three Falcons to record a double-double in the match as Kierra Freeman totaled a career-high 51 assists and 12 digs and Makenna Grimes added 13 kills and 13 digs. Freeman also scored on four setter dumps and showed her aggressiveness from the opening serve, totaling 12 attack attempts on the match.

Defensively, Lauren Demuth totaled a career-high seven blocks for the match and had three solo blocks for the third time this season while Kyndall Torres added 22 digs.

In the first set, kills by Macias bookended a 4-0 UTPB run to give the Falcons an early 4-1 lead, and then the second setter dump of the set by Freeman made it a 10-5 lead. UTPB was hitting .545 percent to start the match with seven kills and just one attack error, and then two more kills by Freeman made it 14-8.

It was an 18-12 lead after an ace by Torres, but the Greyhounds came back with a vengeance, holding the Falcons to just three points the rest of the way and scoring six straight points to tie the match (18-18). That started what was a 9-1 run for the Greyhounds to take a 21-20 lead after back-to-back assisted blocks. A critical service error on the Falcons, their fifth service error of the opening set, made it a 23-21 deficit, and then back-to-back blocks by the Greyhounds, their sixth and seventh blocks of the set, ended it.

After recording six kills in the first set, Macias opened up the second set with another kill and had five early kills in the set to give UTPB a 12-11 lead. However, the second service error of the set by UTPB tied it at 11-11, and then UTPB would later trail 18-15 after back-to-back kills by the Greyhounds' Addison Bartlett.

The Falcons retook the lead at 20-19 on an ace by Freeman, and then each of UTPB's next four points of the set came courtesy of a kill by Macias, the last of which made it a 24-23 lead. Tie at 24-24, a big kill by Amyah Collins broke the tie, and then the final point of the set came on a kill by Nickilah Whatley getting back at her former school to put UTPB on the scoreboard tied at one set apiece.

Through just two sets, Macias already had 16 kills and a .462 hitting percentage to her credit, and she then opened the third set with a kill. UTPB would trail 10-5 in the set as ENMU totaled eight kills with just one attack error (.368 pct.) to start. UTPB later trailed 17-14 after back-to-back kills by ENMU's top hitter, Sophia Valdez, but battled back to tie it at 19-19 on a kill by Macias.

Late in the third set, UTPB led it 22-20 after a kill by Demuth, but could not hold the lead as ENMU scored each of the next four points to get to set point. UTPB thwarted the set point initially, getting an assisted block by Demuth and Collins to tie it at 24-24, but back-to-back kills by Valdez gave ENMU the 2-1 set lead. ENMU finished the third set with 22 kills, the most UTPB has allowed in a single set so far this season.

With UTPB seeing its postseason hopes potentially slipping away with a loss and down two sets to one, the Falcons would respond to dominate the fourth set, and then got off to a great start in the fifth set.

The fourth set was yet again started with a kill by Macias, who started the set with two kills to pull herself to within one kill of tying the program record. UTPB took control of the set with a 10-3 run that featured back-to-back service aces by Demuth and later ended with Emma Gonzalez recording an ace on three of the Falcons' final four points of the run to take a 15-7 lead.

Macias tied the program record for kills to give UTPB a 16-8 lead, and then broke it just one point later to make it 17-8. She would finish with 30 kills through four sets as UTPB rolled to the 10-point win.

Then in the fifth and final set, UTPB jumped out to a 3-0 lead after back-to-back kills by Macias to start it were followed by a solo block by Demuth. Macias was responsible for starting each of the final four sets of the match with a kill, and had a kill to register UTPB's first point in all five sets.

UTPB led 5-1 in the fifth set after a kill by Sydney Bradley.

Two service errors by UTPB early in the fourth set gave the Falcons 10 for the match, but they would not commit another service error until early in the fifth set to start a 4-0 run for ENMU to tie the set at 5-5. UTPB would finish the match with 13 service errors, its most since committing 15 errors on September 12, 2024, vs. Sul Ross State University.

The second solo block of the fifth set by Demuth was followed by kills by Grimes and Bradley to give the Falcons a 9-6 advantage. However, it was later tied at 11-11 before a crucial kill by Macias, which started a stretch of three straight points by the Falcons that ended with an ENMU attack error and a kill by Demuth to get UTPB to match point up 14-11. Two points later, it was Macias who fittingly so, ended the match with one final kill.

It was a truly wild, back-and-forth match, with no clear winner set to be decided until the very end.

UTPB Head Volleyball Coach CJ Allard spoke after the match and said, "We like to say in our gym, it doesn't have to look good, it just has to be good. I think today embodied that. There were stretches where we looked like we'd never find the momentum needed to get over the hump. But when Ashlee's breaking records, Kierra's setting personal bests, and the rest of the squad is refusing to give in, we have amazing fortitude and today it was just enough to sneak past Eastern New Mexico."

UTPB's 68 kills in the match were its most in two years under Coach Allard, and were its most since recording 71 kills in a 3-0 win vs. Henderson State University on September 2, 2023. In addition, the total was one kill short of cracking the top-five for a single match in program history.

UTPB hit over .250 percent in each of its set wins, including hitting .261 percent in the final set compared to a match-low .042 percent for the Greyhounds. For ENMU, Valdez would finish the match with 23 kills, but was outmatched by Macias. After the match, Valdez now ranks second in the conference with 3.67 kills set.

With the win, UTPB improves to 9-14 overall and 7-6 in the Lone Star Conference, and yet again avoids dropping below .500 in conference play for the first time this season. The Falcons have now alternated between a win and a loss in their last eight matches. In addition, UTPB remains in 10th place in the LSC standings, and is now just one game out a three-team tie for seventh place.

It will be an important week next week as UTPB hits the road for its final two road matches of the regular season. The Falcons will take on Lubbock Christian University at 6 p.m. on Friday, November 7, followed by Midwestern State University at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 8.

The top-eight teams in the LSC regular-season standings at season's end will qualify for the LSC Volleyball Championship Tournament on November 20-22. The No. 1 overall seed will host the eight-team bracket.