- Box Score
CANYON – The TexAnns were ousted by the top-seeded West Texas A&M Lady Buffs Friday night in Canyon, Texas, 3-0.
WTAMU entered the match on an 81-game Lone Star Conference win streak, and coming off a 2009 NCAA Division II Runner-Up season. On the other side, Tarleton already had their school-record 23rd win, picked up in a 3-2 victory over Midwestern State Thursday, and was hoping to make it 24 wins on the year.
Game one started off with Tarleton's nerves getting the best of them on such a big stage. WTAMU jumped out to an 11-5 lead, forcing head coach Mary Schindler to call a time out and the TexAnns to regroup. Unfortunately, the Lady Buffs followed up with a seven-point tear, pushing Tarleton's deficit to 18-5. From that point on, the TexAnns struggled to put consecutive points together, and eventually dropped the first set 25-10. The difference in game one came on Tarleton's 12 errors compared to WTAMU's one error. The TexAnns hit a -.161 attack percentage and failed to record a block just one night after collecting 16 blocks as a team.
Tarleton needed to respond in the second set and did so taking a 5-3 lead, but the Lady Buffs answered with a 14-2 stretch. The TexAnns were able to manage a four-point run to end WTAMU's hot streak, but ultimately the Lady Buffs were just more consistent, taking game two 25-13. Tarleton hit a .000 percentage in the second set, but did manage eight kills, eight assists, and 13 digs. WTAMU hit their second straight game of an attack percentage above .345, and forced the TexAnns to commit eight more attack errors.
Down 2-0, the TexAnns were looking for something to gain the momentum in their favor. Tarleton traded back-and-forth with WTAMU for most of the game, but the Lady Buffs started to pull away once they had a firm lead. The TexAnns were able to fight back, bringing the game within one at 23-22 and doing everything they could to force a fourth game. Tarleton fought their hearts out, but No. 1 seeded WTAMU proved to be too much with their home court advantage and friendly crowd. The third game ended 25-22 in the Lady Buffs favor.
Flynn Harrell led the TexAnn offense with 12 kills, while Irelis Ilarraza added seven kills. Shea McBrearty ended her extraordinary career as Tarleton's all-time career dig leader with 1,847, adding 14 in the contest. Rachel Wolf added four kills and five digs in her career finale.
Jessie Hartman and Danielle Barker split distribution duties with 14 and 12 assist respectively.
The Lady Buffs were anchored on defense by Erika Dupree, who had 12 digs and three blocks. She also led WTAMU with 17 assists, while Teresa Dunn contributed 14 assists. Ashley Davis led the Lady Buffs' offense with 13 kills.
Seniors Shea McBrearty, Catherine Cutbirth, Margaret Luedecke, and Rachel Wolf did have something to be proud of after leading the TexAnns to the most wins in program history, with 23 victories. Their contributions both on the court and off over the years have been appreciated by Tarleton, the Stephenville community, and TexAnn fans, and they will never be forgotten.
