ODESSA, Texas (September 10, 2026) – The opening match of the Lone Star Conference Challenge hosted by UT Permian Basin saw the Falcons sweep UT Dallas 3-0 (33-31, 28-26, 25-21) in three very close sets on Thursday night inside the Falcon Dome. It was also the first home match of the season for the Falcons, who had to overcome an early deficit in each of the first two sets before winning it in extra scoring.
UTPB (4-1 overall) presented a balanced attack with five players recording at least seven kills and six players tallying at least six digs.
Leading the way was
Makenna Grimes with 11 kills and six digs while
Giselle Orellana totaled nine kills and was one of four Falcons with double-digit digs (11).
Sydney Bradley had one of her best matches as a Falcon, recording an early season-high of eight kills, hitting .300 percent, and getting involved in four blocks assists. It was her fourth time in just five matches so far this season notching at least four blocks in a match.
Nickilah Whatley matched Bradley with eight kills and totaled five blocks, including UTPB's lone solo block.
Emma Gonzalez (19 assists, 10 digs) and
Kierra Freeman (17 assists, 8 digs) split the setting duties while
Kaitlyn Salgado (7 kills) led the team with 14 digs and libero
Kyndall Torres registered 11 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UTPB recorded 20 kills in a gutsy first-set victory, and was nearly just as good with 18 kills in the second set.
Three early service errors by UTD (4-4) helped UTPB stay in it down 10-6 in the opening set before the Falcons battled back to tie it at 13-13 on a service ace by Orellana and a block assist by Whatley and Bradley.
UTPB led 16-14 after back-to-back kills by Bradley, and after a 17-17 tie, back-to-back kills by Grimes both on the assist from Gonzalez made it 19-17 Falcons. Grimes later added another kill on the assist from Gonzalez to make it a 22-19 lead, but the Comets would not go away quietly.
A quick kill by Whatley gave UTPB the first set point of the match (up 24-23), but then the Falcons had to fight off set point from the Comets six times to stay alive.
Two more service errors in the opening set by the Comets tied it at 26-26 and 28-28, and later a clutch kill by Orellana made it 30-30 before the sixth service error of the set by UTD made it 31-31. UTPB took the final two points from there as
Precious Johnson and Bradley teamed up for a block assist before Salgado finished it off with a kill.
Similarly to the first set, UTPB trailed early in the second set before coming back to tie it. The Falcons found themselves behind by scores of 8-2, 10-3, 13-6, 15-8 and 16-10 before rattling off six straight points to tie it (16-16). Then down 18-16, back-to-back kills by Salgado tied it again (18-18), but more importantly jumpstarted a 5-0 run that ended with another kill by Salgado to make it 21-18 Falcons.
The lead would change hands four more times in the second set as UTPB took a 23-22 lead when a dig by Torres also dropped in for a kill on the other side of the net. Just like the first set, the Falcons had to stave off set point from the Comets, getting a big kill from Grimes to tie the set at 24-24 and keep it going.
After some great serving by Gonzalez earlier in the set, Freeman delivered a service ace on the reception error by Jane Burkhardt, one of UTD's top players, to give UTPB a 26-25 advantage. Three points later, an overpass by the Comets after the serve by the Falcons led directly to a kill for Bradley to win the set and give UTPB a 2-0 set lead.
UTPB trailed 19-15 in the third set before another 6-0 run, matching its big run from the second set. The Falcons took the lead (20-19) as another overpass by the Comets led to a big kill by Orellana, and later another ace from Freeman attacking Burkhardt made it 23-20 UTPB. The match would end three points later when a block-touch challenge by UTD was deemed unsuccessful, resulting in an attack error to end it.
"I was proud to see our girls fight tonight and be able to compete through some adversity," spoke Head Coach
Melissa Avila. "We have some things on our half of the court to focus on going into Saturday's game and some areas to clean up, but overall we were able to execute the game plan and finish. It is always good to win your home opener, and the fans were great."
UTPB faced similar adversity against UTD in the first-ever matchup between the two teams a season ago as the Falcons trailed 23-17 before coming back to win the opening set in extra scoring (26-24). Grimes led UTPB with 12 kills and 10 digs in that matchup, leading the Falcons in kills in both matches so far against the Comets. The two teams will meet one more time during the regular season this year.
This year's LSC Challenge matches UTPB, the No. 10-place team in the standings in 2025, against No. 11-place St. Edward's University and No. 12 place UT Dallas.
After an off day on Friday, the Falcons will wrap up the LSC Challenge against St. Edward's University starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 12. The Falcons have five straight wins in the series against the Hilltoppers.
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