UTPB Athletics

SAN ANGELO, Texas (August 28, 2026) – The University of Texas Permian Basin volleyball team began its 2026 season 2-0 in the first two matches under new head coach Melissa Avila. The Falcons first defeated Fort Lewis College 3-0 (25-19, 25-14, 25-18) in the opening match of the Kathleen Brasfield Invitational, and then again won 3-0 (31-29, 25-21, 25-17) over Minnesota State University Moorehead.
 
Match 1 (UTPB 3, Fort Lewis 0):

• UTPB trailed 9-7 in the opening set before a 4-0 run to take an 11-9 lead and then another 4-0 run to take control with a 19-12 advantage. Each of those runs featured a pair of kills by the Falcons and two errors by the Skyhawks.
• Sophomore outside hitter Giselle Orellana got a kill for the first point of the season, fellow-sophomore outside hitter Kaitlyn Salgado led the Falcons with five kills in a 25-19 opening-set victory, and then junior setter Kierra Freeman recorded back-to-back service aces to help give UTPB an early 4-0 lead in the second set.
• UTPB would lead 17-5 in the second set and won it 25-14 after ending it on a block assist by sophomore Makenna Grimes and senior Precious Johnson.
• The Falcons limited the Skyhawks to -.021 percent hitting in the second set on 10 attack errors.
• UTPB had just eight attack errors and hit .304 percent overall for the match.
• Four kills by Nickilah Whatley helped stake the Falcons to a 13-10 lead midway through the third set. Whatley also had four kills in the first set and finished with eight for the match while hitting .375 percent.
• UTPB won the final set 25-18 and hit a match-high .367 percent (13 kills, 2 errors).
• Salgado finished with a team-high 10 kills on .400 percent hitting and also added 13 digs for a double-double.
• Orellana totaled nine kills on .333 percent hitting as each of UTPB's top-three offensive players hit over .300 percent on 16-plus attempts.
• UTPB totaled two blocks in each of the first two sets and had five for the match. Sydney Bradley led the way with four blocks, including the lone solo block of the match.
• UTPB was led in the assist column by sophomore Emma Gonzalez with 17.
• The sweep for UTPB was a great result against a team that finished in seventh place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and made the RMAC Tournament a season ago. The Skyhawks were 14-12 overall with an 8-6 record in conference play last season.
• It was also an impressive turnaround from UTPB's last match vs. Fort Lewis in 2024, a 3-2 (29-27, 19-25, 25-19, 23-25, 18-16) defeat in San Angelo, Texas. In that match, the Falcons had set point in the opening set and match point in the fifth, but were unable to pull out the victory.

 
Match 2 (UTPB 3, Minnesota State Moorhead 0):

• Three straight kills by Orellana staked the Falcons to a 13-9 lead in the opening set, but UTPB saw its lead evaporate as the Dragons tied it at 23-23 with a 5-0 run featuring three kills and bookended by UTPB attack errors.
• Tied at 25-25, a huge solo block by Johnson gave the Falcons some momentum back, and then the teams traded points until a service error by the Dragons, a service ace by Freeman, and an assisted block by Bradley and Whatley that just stayed in on the Dragons' site of the court gave UTPB a 31-29 win.
• MSUM outhit UTPB in the opening set, but was done in by four service errors coming in the final 14 points of the match.
• UTPB took a one-point lead (15-14) midway through the second set after three straight kills by Johnson, Salgado, and then Johnson again. Another 3-0 run on kills by Salgado and Johnson before a solo block by Orellana made it 18-15 Falcons.
• This time, UTPB was able to hold off MSUM in the late stages of the set, earning a 25-21 win after back-to-back kills by Salgado to end it.
• Salgado finished with eight kills in the second set while the Dragons committed three more service errors in the final 12 points to help keep them from again coming back in the set.
• UTPB rebounded from the first set to hit .333 with 16 kills in the second set, tying its most kills in a set during opening day.
• UTPB never trailed in the final set, leading 13-8 after a 4-0 run ending with back-to-back kills by Orellana and Whatley and then going up 15-9 after the fourth service ace of the day by Freeman.
• UTPB won five of the final six points of the match, and ended it with a 25-17 win when a successful challenge by Coach Avila resulted in another ace for Freeman.
• Salgado paced the Falcons with an impressive 15 kills on .429 percent hitting. She reached double-digits and led the Falcons in kills in both matches on the day.
• Salgado was followed by Orellana with eight kills, Whatley with seven, and Johnson with five.
• In addition, Gonzalez (18 assists) and Freeman (16 assists) shared the setting duties, but it was Gonzalez leading the Falcons in assists in both matches.
• UTPB totaled three solo blocks against the Dragons and totaled five blocks in both matches on the day.
• It was the first matchup between UTPB and MSUM. Moorhead volleyball continued its upward trend in 2025. The Dragons secured a five-win improvement from 2024, going 14-15 overall in 2025. MSUM also won seven NSIC matches, a three-win improvement from the 2024 season. The 14 wins by Moorhead in 2025 is the highest total since the 2015 campaign. MSUM began the season a perfect 5-0, marking the first time since 2017 a Dragon team began the year with five straight victories. In 2026, MSUM returns 14 student-athletes and bolster a senior class of six players.

 
Coach's Quote:

• "Opening day is always exciting, and coming away with two wins is a great way to start our season. I was proud of the way our team competed, stayed composed, and continued to battle throughout both matches. We saw a lot of good things, but we also know there is plenty we can continue to improve on. It is a strong start, and we are excited to keep building from here." – Head Coach Melissa Avila.

 
Team Record:

• UTPB starts its season 2-0 for the first time since 2023 when UTPB won its first three games at the Kathleen Brasfield Invitational.
• UTPB has now opened its season at the Kathleen Brasfield Invitational in four consecutive seasons.

 
Next Up: The Falcons will finish off their stay at the Kathleen Brasfield Invitational on Saturday, August 29, with an afternoon start (1 p.m.) against Colorado State University Pueblo. That will be followed by UTPB's final match (5:30 p.m.) against East Central University.