SAN ANGELO and ABILENE – The Tarleton TexAnn volleyball team will open the Lone Star Conference portion of its schedule this week at Angelo State on Thursday, Sept. 16 and Abilene Christian on Saturday, Sept. 18.
Thursday's match in San Angelo is set for 7 p.m. while Saturday's contest in Abilene is set for 2 p.m.
The TexAnns, who are off to the best start in the program's history, are 9-0 after defeating NAIA Texas College on Tuesday.
Heading into the week, the TexAnns were led by Rachel Wolf with 103 kills and a 3.43 kills per game average. Flynn Harrell is second with 66 kills while Irelis Ilarraza has 65. The Texans are hitting .218 as a squad and are averaging 13.56 kills per game.
Jessie Hartman leads the team with 197 assists, an average of 6.16 assists per game. Danielle Barker is second with 139 assists and a 4.48 assists per game average.
Heading into the match at Texas College, in which there are no stats at this time, Shea McBrearty needed just 10 assists to break the all-time Tarleton career assist record. She leads the team with 119 digs this season, averaging 3.72 digs per game. McBrearty also tops the squad with 13 service aces while Hartman is second with 11.
Catherine Cutbirth leads the team with 29 total blocks, including three solo and 26 assisted blocks. Monica Hamel and Rachel Wolf are tied for second in blocks with 17 each.
ASU and ACU played Tuesday night to open the conference action, and ACU won in three sets, 3-0.
This season, Angelo State is 3-6 overall this season heading into Thursday's match. The Rambelles have lost four straight.
Chelsea Gibson leads the team with 98 kills and 3.16 kills per game while Kaelen Valdez is second with 78 kills per game. The team is hitting .221 this season and averaging 12.94 kills per game.
Alex Woolsey has 350 assists this year, an average of 10.29 assists per game. Alisa Meredith has eight service aces to top the squad while Woolsey and Alexa Williams are tops with 89 digs per game.
Gibson tops the squad with 22 total blocks while Emily Booth is second with 18.
The two teams have met 33 times since 1978, and the Rambelles lead the all-time series, 22-11. Tarleton has lost the last three meetings after winning the previous three. The TexAnns' last win came on Oct. 14, 2006 in Stephenville (3-0).
ACU enters the weekend 7-2 after its win over Angelo State. The Wildcats have won six straight matches.
Jennie Hutt leads the team with 99 kills and a 3.00 kills per game average while Shawna Hines is second with 95 kills.
Ijeoma Moronu leads the squad with 324 assists, averaging 9.82 per game. Hutt and Kalynne Allen each have 10 service aces to top the team.
Kelsie Edwards has 120 digs to lead the Wildcats while Hines tops the team with 47 total blocks. Moronu and Neely Borger each had 32 blocks for second.
The two teams have met 46 times before Saturday, and the Wildcats, who have won the last two contests, lead the all-time series, 38-8. Tarleton's last win came on Sept. 18, 2008 in Stephenville (3-0).
