By Texas Woman's Athletics Communications 

DENTON, Texas (Oct. 12, 2019) - It was a knock-down, drag-out fight in Kitty Magee Arena Saturday with Texas Woman's on the losing end of a five-setter to UT of the Permian Basin, 25-18, 25-18, 25-20, 25-18.

Taking an early lead, the Pioneers (9-9, 5-3 Lone Star) kept at the attack, taking a six-point run featuring an ace from senior Erin Jones and two kills by freshman Addison Mulroney. Sophomore Trixie Oche continued to perform well for Texas Woman's, leading the charge and extending the Pioneers' lead to 13 points before the Falcons (14-3, 6-2 LSC) were able to make some defensive adjustments and shrink the gap. A final kill by Caroline Noel ended the set 25-18 for TWU.

"Similar to this season, when we're good we're really good, but when we struggle we can put ourselves in some tough spots," TWU head coach Jeff Huebner said. "Our kids were really resilient today."

The teams were neck and neck through most of the second, with the Pioneers mostly taking advantage of Falcon errors. Mulroney was the only Pioneer to successfully put down a kill for the Pioneers at the 5-5 mark. Another ace from Jones finally gave TWU a tenuous lead, but UTPB once again pulled ahead, maintaining a lead until finishing the set, 25-18.

Senior Katy Ranes started the third set by serving up back-to-back aces in a five-point Pioneer run, but Permian Basin tied the score back up at 7-7, forcing both teams to rally. A Pioneer ball-handling error allowed the Falcons to pull ahead. The set continued to be a back-and-forth battle with neither squad managing to take a significant lead until the Pioneers began to rack up errors, leading to the Falcons taking the third frame, 25-20.

The Pioneers trailed much of the fourth set before junior Tabitha Spray kicked off a seven-point service run that included three aces, bringing Texas Woman's to set point with an eight-point lead. Senior Courtney Noel sent one final kill past the Falcons' defense to win the set, 25-18.

"Tabitha does a really good job for us, she's a really tough kid who has played through some adversity for this year," Huebner said. "She's a great teammate and somebody who really makes her friends better, so we're really thankful to see her making a huge impact in our program."

Sophomore Elizabeth Ugbaja was a dominating force for TWU in the fifth, notching five kills in the short set while UTPB piled up errors. The Falcons were able to claw their way back to a tie at 10-10, converting that momentum to a victory at 15-14 and taking the match. 

"I didn't love the way the second and the third set went, but I did love the way that we played in the first, fourth and even the fifth," Huebner said. "It was a great set, there's not a lot we could have done differently, especially with making 10 kills and only two errors."

The Pioneers hit for an overall .179, with Ugbaja leading the team with 14 kills, and Spray earning a double-double with 11 kills and 13 digs. Ranes recorded 44 assists and senior Bailey French had 23 digs.

Texas Woman's hits the road to compete at Texas A&M – Commerce on Oct. 18 in another Lone Star Conference matchup.