Volleyball Goes 3-1 to Open Season in Memphis
September 1, 2007

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The University of Texas at Tyler volleyball team started its season off by going 3-1 at the Rhodes College Invitational Tournament.

The Patriots notched victories over Randolph (Va.), Concordia (Tex.) and St. Catharine (Ky.). The only blemish on the weekend came in a tough 3-1 loss to Millsaps on Sunday.

The 3-1 record marks the best start for the Patriots in program history. The victory over Concordia is UT Tyler’s first win over the Tornadoes since the 2006 season.

On Saturday, the Patriots opened their season with a 3-0 win over Division III Randolph, 25-12, 25-16, 25-20. Freshman Amanda Hanson (Spring, Texas) led UT Tyler in the match with six kills, while senior Megan McCarty (Kaufman, Texas) led her team in both digs, with 15, and service aces, with three.

In the second match of the day, UT Tyler faced off against American Southwest Conference rival Concordia (Tex.) in a non-conference affair.

The Patriots jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, including a 25-14 win in the second game of the match. However, Concordia would fight back in the third game and win 25-22. But in the fourth game, UT Tyler would win the match by going to extra points to win the game and match, 26-24.

Freshman Danika Waldrep (Arlington, Texas) led the Patriots in digs with 25, while McCarty chipped in for 20 of her own. Freshman Liz Bartleson posted 13 attacks in the match (Burlington, Wisc.), which was tops for UT Tyler.

Amanda Hanson and freshman Aerial Longino (Alvarado, Texas) combined for nine blocks, as UT Tyler posted the second-highest number of total blocks during a single match in team history.

On Sunday, the Patriots took on Division III Millsaps. The Patriots jumped out to an early lead in the first game, but the Majors fought their way back to win 26-24. Millsaps carried that momentum into the second game to win 25-13. In the third game of the match, the Patriots proved they knew how to face down adversity by beating the Majors, 25-19, to pull within one in the match. However in the fourth game, Millsaps would close out the match by beating the Patriots 25-18 for the 3-1 win.

In the final match of the invitational, the Patriots took on NAIA member St. Catharine. In a dual of the Patriots it would by UT Tyler who proved victorious, taking down their opponents from the Commonwealth, 25-21, 25-7 and 25-17.

Senior Ashley Montalvo (Blooming Grove, Texas) took control defensively for the Patriots by posting 17 digs.

Sophomore Whitney Clements (Flint, Texas) and junior Cristy Meredith (Amarillo, Texas) split the duties at setter on the weekend as Clements posted 52 set assists, while Meredith had 47.

On Friday and Saturday, the Patriots will host the 2008 Azalea Orthopedics UT Tyler Fall Volleyball Invitational. UT Tyler will open their tournament on Friday against Ottawa (Kan.) at 2 p.m. at the Herrington Patriot Center.

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