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WICHITA FALLS - The Tarleton TexAnns will resume tournament action this weekend with a trip to Wichita Falls for the Midwestern State Hampton Inn & Suites Invitational.  This will be the second of four tournaments that the TexAnns will play in this season.

Previewing Tarleton
The TexAnns enter the tournament 1-4 on the season after defeating Texas Wesleyan (25-17, 25-18, 25-19) in straight sets at Wisdom Gym on Wednesday.  Tarleton opened the season going 0-4 at the UNO Showcase in Omaha, Neb.

Tarleton opens the tournament against No. 4 Emporia State (4-0) at 1:30 p.m. on Friday and will follow with a match against Northwood (1-3) at 4 p.m.  The TexAnns will open Saturday's play against Drury (3-0) at 9 a.m. and will conclude the tournament against Southwest Baptist (2-2) at 2 p.m.  All matches will be played at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. 

D.L. Ligon Coliseum is located at the corner of Midwestern Pkwy. and Taft Blvd. on the MSU campus. Directions

Due to limited parking accommodations, the MSU Police Department encourages spectators for Friday's matches to use the parking lot at the Outdoor Education Center. A shuttle service will be provided to D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Map

Tournament information as well as live stats can be found my clicking the tournament home page link at the top.

Senior middle blocker Shay Gracy leads the the TexAnns with 45 kills, 2.65 kills per set and .257 attack percentage.   Defensively, she leads the squad with 15 total blocks (six solo).  Sophomore setter Jessie Hartman is averaging 5.12 assists per game while senior setter Danielle Perkins follows with a 2.76 assists per game average.  Junior libero Shea McBrearty leads the team with 77 digs and a 4.53 digs per game average. 

Scouting the Hornets
ESU enters the tournament with an 4-0 record and ranked No. 4 in the nation. The Hornets won all four of their matches  at the UNO Showcase last weekend, recording straight-set wins over Minnesota State-Mankato, Eastern New Mexico, Dallas Baptist and North Alabama.  Arcia Shepard leads the Hornets with 55 kills and a 4.58 kills per set average.  Ting Liu leads her team in assists with 11.67 per set.  Defensively, ESU is led by Amy Byfield with 48 digs and Brianne Boner with 13 total blocks.

Scouting the Timberwolves
Northwood enters the weekend with a 1-3 record after defeating Quincy (3-0) and falling to Indianapolis (3-1), Southern Indiana (3-0) and California (Pa.) (3-0) over a span of two days at the Ferris State Invitational last weekend.  The Timberwolves are led offensively by Lauren Chapmen who has 78 assists on the season.  Sara Skornia leads the Timberwolves defense with 17 blocks.

Scouting the Panthers
Drury is a perfect 3-0 after defeating Southern Arkansas in straight sets on Wednesday in Magnolia, Ark.  The Panthers opened the season with a pair of wins over Arkansas-Fort Smith (3-2) and Arkansas-Monticello (3-0).  Drury is led by Jagoda Pstras who has 21 kills on the season.  Austin Warren leads the team with 64 assists while Kyrie Hopkins lead with a team-high five total blocks.

Scouting the Bearcats
SBU is at .500 on the season after going 2-2 at the Arkansas Tech Spikefest last weekend.  The Bearcats opened the season with losses to Alabama-Huntsville (3-2) and Cameron (3-0) before collecting wins over Texas A&M International (3-1) and Arkansas Tech (3-2).  Kelsey Stewart leads the Bearcats with 43 kills and 10 service aces so far this season.  Brianna Wallace sets up the offense and has recorded 118 assists.  Marcy Greenwade (54 digs) and Joana Granzow (16 total blocks) lead SBU on the defensive side of the net.

Series Records
The TexAnns are a combined 3-4 against this weekend's opponents.  Tarleton is 2-3 against Drury, but won the last meeting against the Panthers 3-0 in Lawton, Okla., back on Sept. 8, 2001.  The series dates back to 1994.  The TexAnns are 1-0 in their only meeting with ESU.  Tarleton won the match 3-1 in Edmond, Okla.  In their only meeting with SBU, the Bearcats lead the series 1-0.  SBU won the match 3-2 in last season's Alamo City Classic in San Antonio.  This will be Tarleton's first meeting against Northwood.

Quick Hits:
• The TexAnns have five players (Shay Gracy, Rachel Wolf, Kendall Hansen, Erin Lynn and Catherine Cutbirth) with double-digit kills.
• Shay Gracy recorded a career-high .500 attack percentage while collecting more than 10 kills.  She had 12 kills against the Rams on Wednesday.
• Head coach Mary Domine Schindler is now 3-2 in home openers after Wednesday's win over Texas Wesleyan.
• The TexAnns have the exact same record (1-4) after five matches last season.  Tarleton went on to win a school-tying 22 wins in 2008.

Up Next
The TexAnns return home next weekend to host the TexAnn Invitaional. Tarleton will take on Texas-Permian Basin and Oklahoma Panhandle State on Friday before closing out the tournament against Incarnate Word and Texas A&M International on Saturday.