WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- The Midwestern State Mustangs (3-9, 1-3) broke a seven match losing streak with an impressive 3-1 win over the University of Texas at Tyler Patriots (6-6, 1-3) on Saturday afternoon inside D.L. Ligon Coliseum. After dropping the first set 15-25, MSU won the next three sets, 25-23, 25-23, 25-16 to record their first Lone Star Conference win of the season. 

"We had a slow start in the first set but they fought back," MSU coach Valerie Armstrong said. "They grinded it out, in the third set especially and came from behind. I'm proud of us."

The Patriots jumped all over MSU in the opening stanza, scoring seven of the first 10 points to grab an early 7-3 lead. The Mustangs closed to 7-5 with back-to-back points, but it was the closest they would come in the first set. 

MSU evened the match at 1-1 with a hard fought 25-23 win in the second set. Senior Sarah Eakin recorded two of her team-high 12 kills in the set. 

"We started off a little slow but then started to pick it up," Eakin said. "Once we get a taste that we can win, there's really no stopping us."

In a back and forth third set, MSU came out on top 25-23 despite trailing 22-18. The Maroon and Gold closed the set on a 7-1 run to grab a 2-1 advantage. 

The Mustangs grabbed control of the fourth set with a four-point surge that pushed their lead to 11-5. Later in the set, leading 24-16, Janiya Chapman blasted her eighth kill of the match to clinch the win.

MATCH NOTES
- Rockelle Gholson narrowly missed her second straight double-double, finishing with nine kills and 10 digs
- MSU broke a seven match losing streak with the win
- MSU hit .184 as a team; UT Tyler posted a .152 kill rate

UP NEXT
Midwestern State hits the road for a Lone Star Conference matchup against West Texas A&M on October 4. Match time is slated for 6 p.m.