Tournament Homepage

STEPHENVILLE - The Tarleton TexAnn volleyball team will host the 2009 TexAnn Invitational this weekend at the Tarleton Recreation Sports Center in Stephenville.  The tournament will run Friday, Sept. 11 through Saturday, Sept. 12. 

The Tarleton Recreation Sports Center is located on the corner of Rome Ave. and Vanderbilt St.  Visitors may park on the west side of Tarleton Memorial Stadium.  Map

Seven teams along with Tarleton are set to compete in the tournament, including fellow Lone Star Conference teams East Central, Southwestern Oklahoma and Texas Woman's.  Incarnate Word, Oklahoma Panhandle State, Texas A&M International and Texas – Permian Basin are the remaining teams scheduled to compete this weekend.

Friday's matches are slated to begin at 12:30 p.m. with ECU taking on TAMIU on court one and SWOSU playing UIW on court two.  The tournament will consist of a rolling schedule and all matches will begin 20-30 minutes following the previous match.  Saturday's matches are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.

Previewing Tarleton
The TexAnns head into the weekend with an overall record of 2-7 after going 1-3 at the Midwestern State Hampton Inn & Suites Invitational in Wichita Falls last weekend.  Tarleton dropped their opening match in straight sets to then, No. 4, Emporia State.  The TexAnns fought back in the nightcap, handing Northwood (Mich.) a 3-2 loss after being down 2-1 earlier in the match.  Saturday's matches did not go the TexAnns' way as Tarleton dropped the first match, 3-0, to Drury before falling to Southwest Baptist in five sets.

Tarleton will open the 2009 TexAnn Invitational against UTPB (1-8) on Friday and will follow with OPSU (1-7) later Friday evening.  Tarleton will conclude the tournament with a pair of matches, taking on UIW (7-2) early Saturday afternoon and then TAMIU (0-8) later that day.

Senior middle blocker Shay Gracy continues to lead the TexAnns in many categories, including kills (99), attack percentage (.245), total blocks (29) and blocks solo (12).  Junior outside hitter Rachel Wolf follows Gracy with 75 kills (2.08 kpg) on the season.  Sophomore setter Jessie Hartman leads the team in assists (182) while averaging 5.06 assists per game while senior setter Danielle Perkins follows with 102 assists and a 2.83 assists per game average.  Junior libero Shea McBrearty leads the team with 154 digs and a 4.28 digs per game average.  Junior middle blocker Erin Lynn leads the team with 20 assisted blocks. 

Scouting the Falcons
UTPB heads into Stephenville still having not played a home match.  The team out of Odessa is coming off a stunning 3-1 victory over Angelo State at Stephens Arena in San Angelo on Tuesday night.  The Falcons had begun the season dropping its first eight matches before the upset win.  Molly Atnip leads her team with 85 kills, while Danae Eckart is tops on the squad with 157 digs.

Scouting the Lady Aggies
OPSU is coming off a pair of losses to Texas A&M – Commerce on Tuesday and have lost seven of their last eight matches. The Lady Aggies had begun the season with a win against Mid American Christian.  Hillary Isleifson leads the Lady Aggies with 24 kills on the season.  Her teammate Krisha Wilson leads the squad defensively with 12 total blocks.

Scouting the Cardinals
UIW is coming into this weekend's action on a 7-2 record and fresh off a win against Midwestern State. The Cardinals are 6-0 while playing at neutral sites this season. Edie Weise leads the Cardinals with 114 kills, while Spencer Ladd leads the team with 161 digs.

Scouting the Dustdevils
The Dustdevils are coming into the invitational 0-8 on the season. TAMIU returns to the court after falling in four straight matches at the St. Edward's Tournament this past weekend. Alexandria Montemayor leads the Dustdevils with 66 kills and 90 digs.

Series Records
The TexAnns are a combined 14-20 against this weekend's opponents.  Tarleton is 1-3 against UTPB after losing to the Falcons, in four sets during last season's opening match of the TexAnn Invitational.

Tarleton is 2-0 in their series with OPSU. The TexAnns beat the Lady Aggies in straight sets at the TexAnn Invitational last season.

Tarleton has a long history with Incarnate Word dating back to 1978. The Cardinals lead the all-time series 16-8 and has won five straight over the TexAnns including two wins last season.

The TexAnns lead the all-time series 3-1 over TAMIU having won the last three meetings. 

Up Next
Tarleton will continue their six-match home stand into next week as the TexAnns face Texas Woman's on Thursday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. to open up Lone Star Conference play.  Tarleton will conclude the home stand against Texas A&M – Commerce on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 2 p.m.