(RV) UT Tyler (15-3, 6-2) / UT Dallas (9-8, 5-3)
Date & Time	Friday, October 16th 6:00 p.m. | Saturday, October 17th 2:00 p.m.
Location	Tyler, Texas - Herrington Patriot Center | Richardson, Texas - UTD Activity Center
Live Statistics	vs. UTT | vs. UTD
Live Video	FloCollege
Additional Links	Game Notes

CANYON, Texas – The Lady Buffs of West Texas A&M hit the road for Lone Star Conference action this weekend as they make their way to East Texas on Friday for a showdown with the UT Tyler Patriots followed by a Saturday matchup in Richardson at UT Dallas.
 
UT TYLER
The Patriots enter the weekend with an overall record of 15-3 as they are 6-2 in Lone Star Conference play to sit fourth in the league standings. UTT rides a two-match win streak into the weekend following LSC road wins at Lubbock Christian and Midwestern State last weekend.
 
Melanie Merrill leads the way offensively for the Patriots as the senior from Oro Valley, Arizona has registered 142 kills on 351 swings with 54 errors for an attack percentage of .251 to go along with three assists, 36 digs and 37 total blocks. 
 
Riley Clinton paces the UTT offense as the Cedar Park native has dished out 332 assists to average 5.19 per set to go along with 16 service aces, 15 kills and 68 digs. Reigning LSC Defensive Player of the Week Makhai Lewis is 16th nationally in blocks per set (1.22) to go along with 58 kills and 19 aces.
 
UT Tyler ranks 42nd in the nation in team attack percentage (.240) while sitting 12th in opponent hitting percentage (.130) and 19th in blocks per set (2.33).
 
UTT HEAD COACH LYNDSAY MASHE
Lyndsay Mashe is now in her 11th year as the head coach of UT Tyler women's volleyball and has been at the helm for NCAA Division II National Tournament Appearances in the program's first four seasons of NCAA Division II postseason eligibility. 
 
The Patriots have earned at-large bids into the South Central Regional Tournament following 20-plus win seasons in both 2021 and 2022, a 17-12 record in 2023, and an 18-9 record in 2024. UT Tyler volleyball amassed a 75-35 record in their first four seasons of Division II eligibility and have made the Lone Star Conference postseason tournament all four seasons.
 
A LOOK AT THE SERIES
Friday night marks the 15th all-time meeting between the Lady Buffs and Patriots in a series that dates back to 2019. WT holds a 12-3 advantage in the series as the Lady Buffs have won the past 10 meetings. Last season saw the Lady Buffs sweep past the Patriots on September 18th during LSC Crossover action followed by a straight-set win by WT in Canyon on October 24th.
 
UT DALLAS
The Comets enter the weekend with an overall record of 9-8 as they are 5-3 in Lone Star Conference action. UTD fell on the road at Midwestern State last Friday night in a five-set thriller before bouncing back with a four-set win at Lubbock Christian on Saturday afternoon.
 
Jane Burkhardt leads the UTD offensive attack as the sophomore from Phoenix has registered 269 kills on 779 swings with 118 attack errors for a hitting percentage of .194 to go along with 12 assists, 14 service aces, 124 digs and 22 total blocks for a team-best 294.5 total points (4.53/set).
 
Scarlette Young has dished out a team-high 346 assists (5.32/set) as the Sachse, Texas product also has 20 aces, 172 kills, 159 digs and 29 total blocks for 206.5 points to average 3.18 per set. Avery Gray leads the way in the back row with 350 total digs (5.38/set) while Laura See has registered 56 total blocks.
 
The Comets rank fifth in all of NCAA Division II volleyball in team attacks per set (38.92) while sitting 59th in digs per set (16.48) and 69th in kills per set (12.97).
 
UTD HEAD COACH ZACH VILLARREAL
Zach Villarreal is in his fifth season at the helm of the UTD Volleyball program. He holds an overall record of 60-55, being named the American Southwest Conference Coach of the Year in 2022. Villarreal spent 18 years as an assistant for the Comets under Marci Allison before taking over the program in July of 2022. The first season in the Lone Star Conference saw the Comets go 6-11 and tied for 12th. Villarreal coached one All-LSC selection and an LSC All-Academic honoree.
 
A LOOK AT THE SERIES
Saturday afternoon will mark the second ever meeting on the volleyball court between the Lady Buffs and Comets. UT Dallas is in their second season of transitioning to NCAA Division II. 
 
Last season saw the Lady Buffs sweep past the Comets in Canyon on October 25th. Currie Marusak led WT with 11 kills as the Lady Buffs registered a .360 attack percentage with five blocks in the win.
 
LONE STAR CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLL
Defending league champion Angelo State claimed 41 of the possible 54 first place votes to sit atop of the poll with 951 points followed by WT (seven first place, 883), Lubbock Christian (three first place, 837), UT Tyler (778) and St. Mary's (one first place, 698) to round out the top five.
 
Texas Woman's sits sixth followed by Oklahoma Christian, Texas A&M-Kingsville, DBU, Midwestern State, St. Edward's, UT Permian Basin, UT Dallas, Western New Mexico, Texas A&M International, Cameron and Eastern New Mexico.
 
THE GAMBLE ERA
Terry Gamble became the sixth head coach in WT history to lead the Lady Buffs to the NCAA Tournament during their inaugural season at the helm in 2025. The Three-time National Champion and NJCAA Hall of Famer was named the 17th head coach in Lady Buff Volleyball history on February 4, 2025. 
 
Gamble has compiled a career record of 1,130-363 (.759) as he was just the third head coach in NJCAA history to reach 1,000 career wins on October 15, 2024. Gamble came to Canyon following seven seasons at Blinn College. He was inducted into the NJCAA Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2007 after winning three NJCAA volleyball championships (2000, 2004, 2006) and three NJCAA Coach of the Year awards.