DENTON, Texas (Oct. 20, 2023) – In their return home to Kitty Magee Arena, the Texas Woman's volleyball team hit .229, hitting a higher percentage than UT Tyler in the match, but ultimately fell in four sets to the Patriots on Friday night.
 
TWU (14-6, 6-3) lost for the first time on their home court in Lone Star Conference action this season, last losing a nonconference match in KMA to the University of Central Oklahoma on Sept. 8. UT Tyler (11-9, 5-4) was held to hitting just .181 on the match across 50 kills and recorded the four-set win.
 
Prior to the start of the match, the Pioneers honored their favorite TWU faculty and staff members by showing their appreciation for all their hard work and support.
 
Supported by the cheering of the faculty and staff members, the Pioneers battled for every point in KMA. TWU recorded 51 kills as a team in the match. Cara Pool topped the Pioneer leader board with 14 kills and hit .379 on the match. With the high hitting percentage from tonight, Pool averages .384 on the season, which ranks second in the LSC.
 
Joining the double digit kill stat line was Tori Woods, who finished the match with 12 kills. Woods also added 12 digs on the night to record a double-double – her fifth of the season.
 
Malia Viernes added eight kills and hit .467 on the night, while Kady Hansen finished with seven.
 
In the assist category, a stat which UT Tyler and TWU tied at 48 overall, Grace Reynolds led the way for the Pioneers. She finished the match with 21 assists, marking her 10th match with 20 or more assists. Reynolds added nine digs in the match. Kiana Reed aslo recorded double digit assists, as she dished out 13.
 
The Pioneers connected on six aces tonight to the Patriots' 10. Four of the six aces came at the hand of Kiana Reed, who matched her career high of four perfect serves. Lizzy Reed and Woods added an ace each to make the six total.
 
Luna França led the Pioneers in digs with 22 on the match, recording her fourth match with 20 or more digs. França also added seven assists for TWU.
 
Set one set the tone for the match – with high level play and back-and-forth scoring. Despite UT Tyler taking an early 5-2 lead, TWU kept their cool and quickly tied the set at five each after a Patriots' attack error. Throughout the match, UT Tyler stayed just ahead, leading by as much as four, 14-10. The Pioneers kept fighting and found their points, tying the match for the second time in the set at 17-17 off an ace by Lizzy Reed.
 
After a 6-1 Patriots' run put them ahead by five points, back-to-back kills from Pool cut the deficit to three, 23-20. Nevertheless, the Patriots closed it out with two straight points on a service error and a service ace to win set one, 25-20 and take the opening 1-0 advantage.
 
After falling in set one, the Pioneers renewed their energy and fought to battle back and even the match in set two. Kiana Reed gave TWU the early two point lead with an ace, 6-4. The scoring traded hands throughout the match with the Pioneers maintaining the momentum advantage.
 
A kill by Hansen gave TWU the 20-17 advantage, and the Pioneers would only allow UT Tyler to score one more point, before closing the set on a 5-0 run. A kill by Pool set up set point for the Pioneers, 24-18, and a Woods' kill claimed the set for TWU, as the Pioneers evened the match, 1-1, with the 25-18 set two victory.
 
Set three mirrored the story of the first two sets with the back-and-forth scoring. After a Patriots' ace gave them the 13-9 advantage, TWU mounted a four point run to knot the game at 13 with a Woods' ace.
 
After tying it again at 14, Kaia Saylor connected on a kill to give the Pioneers' the lead, 15-14. With six ties in the set, the Pioneers tied it again at 17 each off a Marina Obradovic kill, after quieting a 3-0 run for UT Tyler.
 
A late 4-0 run gave the Patriots the set point situation, 24-19. The Pioneers would score two more points, but were unable to continue the run, as UT Tyler won set three 25-21 and took the 2-1 match lead.
 
The fourth and final set saw eight ties, as the Pioneers fought to force to a set five. The excitement carried throughout the set as the scoring went back-and-forth between the two teams. UT Tyler had a late 22-19 lead, which TWU responded to by scoring three straight points to tie the set at 22-22. A Patriots' service error and Kiana Reed ace set up set point for TWU, 24-23; nevertheless, UT Tyler would score three unanswered points to close the set, 26-24, and the match 3-1.
 
TWU will be back in action tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. against Dallas Baptist in KMA. The Pioneers will be hosting a free youth clinic following the match.