Nov. 13, 2009
The University of Texas of the Permian Basin Volleyball's season comes to a close after falling to the St. Edward's Hilltoppers in the first round of the Heartland Conference Tournament 3-1 in Austin.

UTPB lost 23-25, 25-23, 25-15, 25-17.

After scoring the first two points of the first set, the Hilltoppers from St. Edward’s began to build up a lead over the Falcons 18-13. The Falcons scored four unanswered points to pull with in one point at 18-17, but didn’t catch St. Edward’s until UTPB tied the set 22-22. The Falcons went on to reach set point and, although the ’Toppers did fight off set point once, put down the last point to rally back to take the early lead in the match 1-0.

The second set was almost a carbon copy of the first set. UTPB jumped out to an early lead and looked like they were going to fight off the ’Toppers before St. Edward’s found their way back in the set 13-13. This time, however, the Falcons could not catch the Hilltoppers as St. Edward’s went on to win the second set 25-23 to even the match 1-1.

Unfortunately for the Falcons faithful, St. Edward’s momentum from the second set carried the Hilltoppers to a 25-15 win in set three and 25-17 win in set four to pick up the 3-1 win.

UTPB finishes the season 16-20.

Senior setter Brianna Tunnell had a career day for the Falcons with 29 set assists, 27 digs, seven kills and a solo block. As a team the Falcons pick up 106 digs with five women in double digits and two with 20 plus digs.

Sophomore Alex Genung led all hitters with 13 kills, eight digs and two block assists. Junior Heather Sanchez had seven kills, 12 digs, three set assists and a solo block while sophomore Christian Bogers had seven kills, four digs, a solo block and two block assists. Defensively, freshmen Danae Eckart had 23 digs; junior Mica Lamprecht had 17 digs with two set assists and Freshman Melanie Del Bosque had 11 digs.
 

Nov. 13, 2009
Senior Molly Atnip picked up The University of Texas of the Permian Basin’s only spot on the 2009 Heartland Conference All-Conference Team.

Atnip finished the regular season with 262 kills and a .214 hitting percentage, 69 set assists, 12 aces, 178 digs, 107 total blocks (10 solo blocks) in 128 sets played for the Falcons.

Atnip by the numbers:
Sets played: 128
Kills per set: 2.05
Assists per set: 0.54
Service aces per set: 0.09
Digs per set: 1.39
Blocks per set: 0.84
Points per set: 2.60

Complete All-Conference Team
 

Nov. 10, 2009
The 2009 Heartland Conference Volleyball Tournament has been set. St. Edward’s University won the Heartland Conference Championship and will host the 2009 tournament in Austin, Texas. The winner of the conference tournament will receive the Heartland Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The tournament will be played on the campus of St. Edward’s University, on November 13 and 14. Game one of the tournament will be played on Friday starting at 2:00, which will be followed by game two at 5:00. The championship will be held on Saturday, at 5:00.

Friday November 13
Game 1 – 2:00 - #2 Incarnate Word vs #3 Dallas Baptist
Game 2 – 5:00 - #1 St. Edward’s vs #4 Texas-Permian Basin

Saturday, November 14
Championship Game - 5:00 – Winner G1 vs Winner G2

All games can be seen LIVE at http://www.collegetvticket.com/ Wrap-Up Season with 3-0 Win over Newman
Nov. 7, 2009
The 2009 regular season ended with a good note for The University of Texas of the Permian Basin volleyball team as they swept the Newman Jets out of The Falcon Dome 3-0.

Falcons

UTPB won 25-13, 25-20, 25-19.

Sophomore Alex Genung and freshman Jamie Rodell led all hitters with eight kills each. Genung added two digs and one block assist while Rodell had two block assists, one solo block and one dig.

Defensively, senior setter Brianna Tunnell had a big afternoon with 26 set assists, eight digs, two block assists, two aces and two kills. Junior Mica Lamprecht and freshman Melanie Del Bosque each had 11 digs and a pair of aces.  Lamprecht added two block assists and four kills.

Next up for the Falcons will be the team’s third consecutive appearance in the Heartland Conference Tournament. UTPB has made the tournament each year they have been eligible to go. Please check the athletic website for all the details on the tournament coming up next week.
 

Nov. 5, 2009
As UTPB was wrapping up its 3-0 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State just after 8 pm Thursday night the issue was still not settled.

Dallas Baptist was down 2-1 to Newman in Dallas. A Newman win and UTPB would be in a must win situation on Saturday against Newman Jets. A Dallas Baptist win and the Falcons would lock up at least fourth place and go back the Heartland Conference Tournament.

The Dallas Baptist Patriots rallied back and won two sets in row to knock Newman out of the race and hand UTPB the final ticket to the big show.

Despite, losing to Incarnate Word 3-2, St. Edward’s clinched, at least part of, the regular season title and the right to host the conference tournament. (Even if St. Edward’s and Incarnate Word finish the season tied, since the match went to five sets St. Edward’s would win the tie breaker).

So the current sitting for the tournament is as follows:
1. St. Edward’s
2. Incarnate Word
3. Dallas Baptist
4. UTPB

However, a scenario does exist in which UTPB can jump up one more playoff spot. If the Falcons defeat Newman on Saturday, Nov. 7 and Dallas Baptist loses to Oklahoma Panhandle State then UTPB and DBU would be tied and the tie breaker would go to the Falcons. (UTPB out scored DBU by one point in the Falcons 3-1 win over the Patriots).

In either case, the first round of the tournament will be Friday, Nov. 13 in Austin. The matches will be fourth seed vs. first seed and third seed vs. second seed (times are TBD).

The winners from each match will play Saturday, Nov. 14 for the right to represent the Heartland Conference at the NCAA Regional Tournament.

 

Nov. 5, 2009
The University of Texas of the Permian Basin left little doubt Thursday night against conference opponent Oklahoma Panhandle State as the Falcons swept the Aggies 3-0.

UTPB won 25-12, 25-17, 25-13.

The Falcons picked up nine aces in a game were 10 of the 12 players for UTPB got at least one kill. The two that didn’t were both defensive players. Freshmen Melanie Del Bosque, however, picked up three aces and freshmen Danae Eckart accounted for 13 of the team’s 32 digs. Sophomore Alex Genung led all hitters with 10 kills followed by freshmen Jamie Rodell who had six kills and seven block assists. Senior setter Brianna Tunnell had 15 set assists while sophomore setter Sara Torres had 10.

UTPB will wrap up regular season play by hosting Newman at 2 pm on Saturday, Nov. 7 in the Falcon Dome.

 

Oct. 31, 2009
With the Heartland Conference Playoffs on the line, the Falcons got a much needed 3-1 win in the team’s second match against Dallas Baptist.

UTPB won 20-25, 25-21, 25-14, 27-25.

It did not look good in the first set of the match for the Falcons as they found themselves down early to the Patriots 10-3. However, the Falcons clawed their way back in and finally caught DBU at 16-16. Both teams stayed even through the 19-19 mark when Dallas Baptist retook the lead and never let it go. The Patriots took the first set 25-20.

Dallas Baptist and UTPB found themselves deadlocked through most of the second set. The score was tied at 15-15 when UTPB took a small lead and held off the Patriots to win the second set 25-21 and even up the match at 1-1.

Still riding the set two momentum, UTPB ran out to a 15-7 lead over Dallas Baptist and cruised to a 25-14 win to take the 2-1 advantage in the match.

Dallas Baptist came out firing away at UTPB in the fourth set. DBU jumped out to a 3-0 lead to force a UTPB timeout and then, extended their advantage to 10-6, leading UTPB to use both of its timeouts early in the set. The Falcons were not done. UTPB chased down and caught the Patriots at the 14-14 mark. The set stayed close through the 23-23 mark when DBU took the advantage to set up set point. UTPB fought off set point to tie the set at 24-24 before an attacking error brought the Falcons to set point. The Patriots put down a kill to even the set back up at 25-25. However, after DBU served the ball into the net to give The Falcons match point. UTPB put down a double block to win the set 27-25 and the match 3-1.

Senior Molly Atnip, sophomore Christina Bogers and freshmen Jamie Rodell each had 12 kills for the Falcons. Atnip also had six block assists and three digs; Bogers added one block assist and three digs and Rodell had a solo block and seven block assists for the match. Junior Heather Sanchez was right behind the trio with 10 kills, and nine digs while sophomore Alex Genung had eight kills, two solo blocks, one block assist with four digs.

Defensively, UTPB was led by freshmen Danae Eckart with 27 digs, an ace, two set assists and a kill. Just behind her was junior Mica Lamprecht with 15 digs, a block assist and a kill; senior setter Brianna Tunnell had 51 set assists, nine digs, two aces and three kills and freshmen Melanie Del Bosque had eight digs and two set assists.

UTPB has two matches left in the regular season and both of them are important as UTPB is in a fight for the last playoff spot with Newman, a team who beat UTPB the first time the teams played 3-2.

First the Falcons will face Oklahoma Panhandle State at 7 pm on Thursday, Nov. 5. Then UTPB will face Newman at 2 pm on Saturday, Nov. 7. Both games will be live and in living color in The Falcon Dome.

 

Oct. 30, 2009
The University of Texas of the Permian Basin volleyball team bounced back after dropping the first set to conference opponent Dallas Baptist, but in the end the Patriots held on to win the match 3-1.

UTPB lost 25-14, 29-27, 18-25, 25-20.

After dropping the first set by 11 points, the Falcons came out in the second set looking to make a statement. UTPB closed an 11-6 gap and finally caught the Patriots at 18-18. The set stayed close and UTPB had set point twice. However, DBU came back both times and finally took the lead as they won the second set 29-27.

The Falcons came out of the break on fire as they out scored the Patriots 12-5 late in the set to get back in the match with a 25-18 win.

The Falcons played well in the fourth set, but just fell a little short as the lost the set 25-20 and the match 3-1.

Sophomore Alex Genung had a huge match for the Falcons with 18 kills, 11 digs, a block assists and a solo block. Defensively, freshmen Danae Eckart had 21 digs with a set assist; senior setter Brianna Tunnell had 20 digs and 33 set assists to go with her four kills; junior Mica Lamprecht had 14 digs with six kills and a set assist and junior Heather Sanchez had 11 digs, one kill and one solo block.

Game two against Dallas Baptist will take place at 2 pm Saturday, Oct. 31, live in The UTPB Falcon Dome.

 

Oct. 27, 2009
The University of Texas of the Permian Basin volleyball team took one set from the Wildcats from Abilene Christian Tuesday night on their way to a 3-1 loss in Abilene.

UTPB lost 25-10, 21-15, 25-13, 25-18.

Senior Molly Atnip led all hitters with 10 kills, three set assists, three digs, one solo block and three block assists in the match. Defensively, senior setter picked up 16 digs and 27 set assists to go with her two kills. Freshmen Danae Eckart had 13 digs and one kill while junior Mica Lamprecht had 10 digs and a kill.
 

Oct. 24, 2009
The University of Texas of the Permian Basin volleyball didn’t get off to a great start against conference foe Texas A&M International on Saturday afternoon, but, UTPB pulled together and finished off the Dustdevils in straight sets 3-0.

UTPB won 25-19, 25-16, 25-16.

After being tied at 4-4 UTPB quickly found themselves behind 11-5 early in the first set. The Falcons regrouped, caught up and eventually past TAMIU to win the first set 25-19.

The Falcons controlled the last two sets and won comfortably 25-16 and 25-16.

Sophomore Chrisitina Bogers lead all hitters with seven kills and a solo block. Defensively, junior Mica Lamprecht had seven digs to go with her two kills and two set assists while senior Chassidy Johnson had four block assists to go with her five kills. Senior setter Brianna Tunnell had 23 set assists with six digs, two block assists and a kill.

Next up for the Falcons is a trip to Abilene to face Abilene Christian University at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27.
 

Oct. 22, 2009
It was another classic match between The University of Texas of the Permian Basin and the Hilltoppers from St. Edward’s Thursday night in Odessa. Unfortunately, for the Falcon faithful, it was not UTPB’s night as the Falcons fall to the ’Toppers 3-1.

UTPB lost 22-25, 29-27, 25-20, 25-22.

Neither team really took control of the first set that featured eight ties and five lead changes. The two squads were locked a 21-21 when UTPB took the advantage off a kill from senior Molly Atnip. The Falcons held off St. Edwards and won the first set 25-22.

UTPB got off to an early 3-0 lead over the Hilltoppers to start the second set. St. Edward’s caught up to the Falcons at 11-11 and kept the set close until the 19-19 mark. UTPB took a small 21-19 lead over the Hilltoppers and even reached set point at 24-22. However, St. Edward’s was not done. The ’Toppers and fought back into the set to tie UTPB 24-24 with two quick points. The Falcons fought off set point three times before the Toppers could put down two points in a row to win the set 29-27.

St. Edward’s continued their run in the third set as they running out to a 15-9 lead over the Falcons. St. Edward’s went on to win the set 25-20 and take the advantage in the match 2-1.

The Falcons came out on fire in the fourth set. The teams were tied at 9-9 before UTPB opened up a 17-11 lead on the Hilltoppers. St. Edward’s slowly crept back into set, but the Falcons were still holding on to a 22-17 lead. The Hilltoppers, unfortunately, would score eight unanswered points to pull ahead of the Falcons and win the set 25-22 and the match 3-1.

Freshman Jamie Rodell led all UTPB hitters with 16 kills four block assists and dig. Behind her was sophomore Christina Bogers with 11 kills, nine digs, two aces and five block assists and sophomore Alex Genung with 11 kills, six digs and three block assists. Junior Heather Sanchez had nine kills, 12 digs and an ace and Atnip finished the night with eight kills, seven set assists, three block assists and three digs.

Defensively, senior setter Brianna Tunnell had 43 set assists and 22 digs with an ace and three block assists. Freshman Danae Eckart had 21 digs, three aces and a set assist; junior Mica Lamprecht had 16 digs and freshmen Melanie Del Bosque had eight digs and an ace.
 

Oct. 20, 2009
The University of Texas of the Permian Basin volleyball team completes the season sweep of Angelo State University with a 3-0 win in The Falcon Dome on Tuesday night in non-conference action.

UTPB won 25-21, 25-23, 26-24.

In the first set, the Falcons got off to a quick 4-0 lead over the Rambelles. Angelo State pulled back into the match and tied UTPB 12-12 before UTPB went on an 8-3 run to pull away 20-15. Each team went point-for-point the rest of the way as the Falcons win the first set 25-21.

Set two stayed close through the late part of the set when both teams were tied at 16-16. Then Rambelles took a commanding 21-17 lead in the set. However, the Falcons were not done and chipped away at ASU lead to pull even at 23-23. Two double blocks in a row by senior Chassidy Johnson and sophomore Christina Bogers wrapped up the set 25-23 for the Falcons.

The third set started bad for the UTPB. Right off the bat the Falcons found themselves down 8-1 to the Rambelles. However, the Falcons regrouped and started to cut into ASU lead and finally caught Angelo State at 14-14 mark. UTPB stated hot and had the Rambelles facing match point at 24-20 until ASU started a come back of their own, scoring four unanswered points to tie the match at 24-24. UTPB ended the Rambelle rally with a kill to take the advantage and a hitting error by Angelo to win the set 26-24 and the match 3-0.

Sophomore Alex Genung led all hitters with nine kills, two digs and a block assist. Bogers finished the night with seven kills, three digs, three block assists and two set assists; Johnson had six kills, one solo block and five blocks assists on the night and freshmen Jamie Rodell had five kills, six digs, two solo blocks and one block assist.

Defensively, freshmen Danae Eckart had 22 digs; junior Heather Sanchez had 15 digs, two block assists and four kills; senior setter Brianna Tunnell had 25 set assists and nine digs with an ace; junior Mica Lamprecht had six digs and an ace and freshmen Melanie Del Bosque had five digs and a set assist.

Next up for the Falcons is a pair of home conference matches. UTPB will play at 7 pm on Thursday, Oct. 22 against first place St. Edward’s and again at 2 pm on Saturday, Oct. 24 against Texas A&M International. Both games can be seen live from The Falcon Dome.
 

Oct. 17, 2009
The University of Texas of the Permian Basin kept it close but could not fight off the Cardinals from Incarnate Word as the Falcons fall 3-1 in San Antonio.

UTPB lost 25-19, 25-21, 23-25, 25-20.

Sophomore Alex Genung led all hitters with 17 kills and six digs. Junior Heather Sanchez was right behind her with 12 kills, 16 digs a set assist and a block assist; freshmen Jamie Rodell had nine kills, two block assists and a dig; Sophomore Christina Bogers had eight kills, six digs, two block assists and an ace and senior Molly Atnip had six kills, four digs, two block assists and two aces.

Defensively, senior setter Brianna Tunnell had 17 digs, 48 set assists, one block assist and one kill and freshmen Danae Eckart had 15 digs and two aces.

 

Oct. 16, 2009
The University of Texas of the Permian Basin volleyball started off the second half of conference play with a 3-0 win over St. Mary’s in San Antonio Friday night.

UTPB won 25-20, 25-16, 27-25.

The Falcons traded the lead with the Rattlers until the later half of the set when both teams were locked at 18-18. UTPB went on 7-2 run to close out the set 25-20 and take the advantage in the match 1-0.

UTPB dominated the second set jumping out to a 14-7 lead and never let St. Mary’s back into the set. The Falcons cruised to a 25-16 win.

St. Mary’s got off to a fast start and jumped out to a 7-1 lead over UTPB. The Falcons chipped away at the Rattlers to catch St. Mary’s at 10-10 and take a two point lead of their own at 12-10. St. Mary’s regrouped, and retook the lead at 19-16 late in the set. The Falcons rallied back with a 5-0 run to pull ahead 21-19. The Rattlers picked up some points catch up with UTPB and before long the teams were tied 23-23. The Falcons scored first to reach match point at 24-23. Then, St. Mary’s fought off match point and scored two points of their own to take the advantage and set point at 25-24. However, it was the Falcons who would point away the last three points to win the set 27-25 and the match 3-0.

Senior Molly Atnip lead all hitters with 10 kills, nine digs, five block assists, two set assists and an ace. Just behind her was sophomore Alex Genung with nine kills, five digs and three block assists; junior Heather Sanchez with eight kills, 13 digs and two aces; sophomore Christina Bogers had seven kills, six block assists and an ace and freshmen Jamie Rodell had seven kills, one solo block and one block assist.

Senior setter Brianna Tunnell had 37 set assists to go with nine digs, an ace and a solo block. Freshman Danae Eckart had 17 digs and junior Mica Lamprecht had 10 digs and two aces.

Next up for UTPB will Incarnate Word in San Antonio at 11 am on Saturday, Oct. 17.
 

Oct. 10, 2009
The University of Texas of the Permian Basin faced the newest member of the Heartland Conference Arkansas Fort Smith in the second match of a double-header in Wichita, Kan. The Lions came out on top as they defeated UTPB in straight sets 3-0.

UTPB lost 25-14, 25-15, 25-13.

Arkansas Fort Smith started off strong in the first two sets and never let UTPB into the sets. The Lions went on to win the first set 25-14 and the second 25-15.

The Falcons showed some life in the third set, cutting the early Lion lead down to 15-10. However, Fort Smith stayed tough and went on to win the set 25-13 and the match 3-0.

Junior Heather Sanchez and Sophomore Alex Genung lead all hitter with six kills. Sanchez added a dig and an ace while Genung added eight digs to lead all defenders. Senior Molly Atnip was right behind the pair with five kills. Sophomore Taylor Zarsky had five digs and senior setter Brianna Tunnell had 21 set assists.
 

Oct. 10, 2009
It was a battle down to the finish in Wichita, Kan between the Falcons from The University of Texas of the Permian Basin and the Newman Jets. It would be the Jets, however, who would come out on top as they defeat the Falcons 3-2.

UTPB lost 20-25, 28-26, 17-25, 25-16, 15-13.

UTPB drops to 10-14, 4-2 in conference play.

In the first set, the Falcons started off well, scoring the first three points of the match before the Jets could get started. Newman answered back and caught up to Falcons at 6-6 before pulling ahead with a two point lead forcing a UTPB timeout. Each team exchanged leads until 12-12 when the Falcons started to pull away. UTPB went on a 10-2 run, capped off by an ace from sophomore Alex Genung, to go up 22-14. However, the Jets rallied back and went on a 6-1 run of their own to pull back into the set 23-20. The Falcons regained their composure after a timeout and pick up the last two points to win the set 25-20.

Set two started off close before the Jets found a groove and started to build a small lead over the Falcons. Although UTPB pulled with in two points twice they the Jets slowed the UTPB attack and forced a timeout at 18-14. However, out of the timeout the Falcons put down two kills and senior Molly Atnip scored two aces to pull even with the Jets at 18-18. Newmen again went on a run and pulled ahead of the Falcons 24-22 for set point. UTPB, on the strength of a kill by junior Heather Sanchez and a pair of kills from Genung, fought off set point twice to take set point 25-24.  Newman fought back to get set point twice before an in the net call gave Newman the win 28-26 to even up the match at 1-1.

UTPB started off the third set on fire as they jumped on the Jets 9-3. The Jets regrouped after a timeout and pulled even with UTPB at 11-11. The Falcons refocused and once again went on a run to pull ahead 18-12 and fought of the Jets to win the third set 25-17 and retake the advantage in the match at 2-1.

After hitting zero in the third set, the Jets put down 20 kills and hit .474 as a team to win the fourth set 25-16. The Jets jumped ahead 19-10 and, although the Falcons made a small run late, it wasn’t enough to catch the Jets who pulled even in the match at 2-2.
 

The Falcons jumped out to a 5-3 lead in the race to 15 over the Jets to start off the fifth set. Newman battled back to catch the Falcons at 8-8 and pull ahead 11-8 in the set. Newman had the Falcons down 14-10 and facing set point. UTPB fought off set point four times to pull within one point of the Jets 14-13. Unfortunately, it was Newman who would put down the last kill in the match to win the final set 15-13 and the match 3-2. 
 
Genung lead all hitters with 14 kills, six digs and four block assists. Behind her were Atnip and Sanchez who had 12 kills each. Atnip added eight digs, an ace and a block assist while Sanchez added 16 digs and a pair of aces. Freshman Jamie Rodell had 11 kills, three block assist and a solo block and sophomore Christina Bogers had nine kills, two block assists and two solo blocks.

Defensively, the Falcons were lead by setter Brianna Tunnell who had 21 digs and 46 set assist. Freshman Danae Eckart had 16 digs and junior Mica Lamprecht had 11 digs and three aces.