- Box Score
CANYON – The fifth-seeded TexAnns battled fourth-seeded Midwestern State Thursday evening in their first-round match of the 2010 Lone Star Conference Volleyball Championship tournament, with Tarleton coming out on top 3-2. The TexAnns also managed to set a school record with their 23rd win of the season, the most in program history.
“I thought the girls fought really hard,” said volleyball head coach Mary Schindler. “We haven't beaten (Midwestern State) in a really long time and it was just gratifying to pick up the win.”
In the first set, Tarleton won 25-10 as Midwestern State was unable to get consecutive points throughout the game. The TexAnns scored the first point of the match, and used the momentum to jump out to a 15-3 lead, scoring nine consecutive points during one stretch. As a team, Tarleton hit a .435 attack percentage and collected 12 assists and 12 kills. Defensively, they held the Mustangs to a -.111 percentage, while recording four blocks and 14 digs.
Game two was a different story as Midwestern State held the advantage early, but Tarleton hung in there, keeping the game within three points until a 14-11 Mustang lead grew into a 16-11 lead. After head coach Mary Schindler called a crucial time out, Tarleton responded with a four-point run that forced Midwestern State to call a time out of their own to try and stop the surging TexAnns. The Mustangs eventually proved to be too much for Tarleton handle as the TexAnns dropped the second set 21-25. Tarleton hit a .023 attack percentage in the second set, a glaring contrast to game one.
The third set was another back-and-forth battle with neither team able to separate itself from the other. Facing a 19-16 deficit, the TexAnns took a time out to try to stop Midwestern State's momentum. Tarleton responded to Coach Schindler's words of wisdom and responded with another four-point run, taking back a 20-19 lead. Unfortunately, the Mustangs would have the upper-hand in the end, taking the third game 25-21. In game three, Tarleton struggled again hitting yet another negative percentage with a -.024 mark.
Determined to storm back, the TexAnns exploded for six straight points to start the fourth set. Midwestern State answered with a 6-2 run of its own making it 8-6 in favor of Tarleton. After that, it was all TexAnns with Tarleton taking game four 25-16, ending with a 5-1 stretch. Statistically, the TexAnns dominated the Mustangs, recording 19 kills, 17 assists, and 17 digs in the fourth set along, while hitting a .417 percentage.
In the final and decisive fifth set, Midwestern State started things off with a 6-2 run, before Tarleton countered with a 6-1 stretch, making the game 8-7 with the TexAnns leading. Both teams fought valiantly over the next 15 minutes, but it was Tarleton that held off the battling Mustangs of Midwestern State 16-14.
Rachel Wolf led the Tarleton offense throughout the match, collecting 21 kills, while Irelis Ilarraza added 13 kills. Jessie Hartman and Danielle Barker spread the ball around for Tarleton, recording 32 and 19 assists respectively.
Shea McBrearty anchored the defense, providing 21 digs, with Hartman following up with 16 digs. Monica Hamel had a monstrous day up front, recording 11 blocks for the TexAnns, who collected 16 blocks as a team.
Midwestern State was led by Shelbi Stewart, who had nine kills, and Kimberly Jeffrey, who had 27 assists. Kiara Jordan contributed 19 digs, leading the Mustangs in that category.
“I told them we need to focus on one point at a time,” said Schindler. “We were killing ourselves with errors and all we had to was take care of the things we could control. We ended up scoring some points to keep ourselves in the match and went from there.”
The TexAnns will play the winner of No.1 West Texas A&M and No. 8 Incarnate Word Friday, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
