SAN ANTONIO, Texas (September 19, 2026) – The University of Texas Permian Basin volleyball team was defeated 3-1 (25-23, 25-11, 19-25, 25-13) at St. Mary's University on Saturday.
UTPB (5-3 overall, 0-2 Lone Star Conference) dropped the first set 25-23 despite scoring six of the first seven points of the match and hitting .323 with only three attack errors in the frame. A 5-0 run for the Falcons both beginning and ending with an attack error by the Rattlers' Olivia Rubio made it a 6-1 lead, and then another 5-0 run starting with a kill by
Kaitlyn Salgado and ending with a kill from
Haley Beggs broke a 13-13 tie and made it 18-13.
UTPB later led 22-21 after a kill by
Makenna Grimes assisted by
Emma Gonzalez, but a 3-0 run for StMU (8-4, 1-1) ending with a service ace gave the Rattlers the first set point of the match (up 24-22). After a service error to extend the match, a kill by Laurene Robinson gave the Rattlers the 1-0 lead.
StMU rolled to victory in both the second and fourth sets, committing only two attack errors in each frame while limiting UTPB to below .100 percent hitting, including -0.097 percent (7 kills, 10 errors) in the final set. In the end, the Rattlers won both sets ending on 10-2 runs.
Grimes led UTPB with nine kills,
Kierra Freeman led with 17 assists, and
Kyndall Torres led with 17 digs.
Robinson totaled a match-high 15 kills for StMU and also added nine digs, three blocks, two aces and an assist. She entered the weekend leading the LSC in kills per set with 4.20, points per set with 4.76, and total kills with 185. A graduate student, Robinson is a returning LSC All-Conference selection, earning Second Team honors in 2025.
The Rattler volleyball team is coming off a 15-13 season and a quarterfinal appearance in the LSC Tournament in 2025, and this year the Rattlers were picked to finish fifth in the 18-team league. Coming into the weekend, StMU had a four-match winning streak overall before falling 3-2 (22-25, 31-33, 25-15, 25-22, 15-12) in a reverse sweep against No. 6 nationally-ranked Angelo State University last night (Sept. 18).
The Falcons also gave up double-digit service aces for the third match in a row. Five of the six servers for StMU recorded at least one ace on the afternoon as the Rattlers had more aces than errors for the fourth time this season and the third time in the last four matches with 10 aces and only six errors in 93 attempts. Sophomore Tara Creekmore led the team with three aces, and she was also second on the team with 13 kills. Meanwhile, Gonzalez recorded a season-best three service aces for the Falcons.
The Falcons are back in action next weekend as they play at home for the first time in conference play this season by hosting the LSC's two Oklahoma-based schools. UTPB will first battle Cameron University at 6 p.m. on Friday, September 25, followed by Oklahoma Christian University at 2 p.m. on Saturday, September 26. Cameron is where current UTPB Head Coach
Melissa Avila spent the 2025 season as head coach.
