Volleyball Splits Final Day of Classic; Phelps Gets 100th Win
September 5, 2009

The University of Texas at Tyler volleyball team went 1-1 on the final day of the 2009 UT Tyler/Trinity Mother Frances Classic on Saturday at the Herrington Patriot Center. The Patriots dropped their first match of the day, 25-20, 25-17, 25-16, to Southwestern Assemblies, but picked up a hard-fought, 25-23, 20-25, 25-16, 25-19, win over Mid-America Christian in the final game of the classic.

UT Tyler’s win over Mid-America marked the 100th career victory for head coach Kristee Phelps. Phelps is in her ninth year as a collegiate head coach and fifth at UT Tyler.

In the first match, the Patriots (2-2) were once again able to keep pace with their opponents early in the games only to struggle to gain points down the stretch, thus allowing Southwestern to pick up the 3-0 win.

Sophomore Danika Waldrep (Arlington, Texas) led her team in the match with eight kills, while junior Kelsey Winn (Tyler, Texas) led UT Tyler defensively with 14 digs.

In the second match, the Patriots were able to produce more effectively on offense and eliminate mistakes in order to secure the four-game win.

Freshman Stephanie Pupenbroke (Carrollton, Texas) led UT Tyler offensively in the match by netting 16 kills on 32 attempts with only one error, while fellow freshman Hillary Taylor (Lewisville, Texas) followed suit on the defensive end by recording a team-high 22 digs.

Setters Whitney Clements (Flint, Texas) and Cristy Meredith (Amarillo, Texas) also contributed to UT Tyler’s cause with a combined 48 set assists in the match.

UT Tyler will return to action next weekend when they take part in the Austin College Invitational in Sherman, Texas, on Sept. 11-12. The Patriots’ first match in Sherman will be on Friday at 4 p.m. against Jarvis Christian.

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