COMMERCE – The 2010 Tarleton TexAnn volleyball team will open the new season on the road at the Texas A&M-Commerce Volleyball Invitational in Commerce on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 3-4.

The TexAnns will play Southern Arkansas at 9 a.m. on Friday before facing Fort Hays State at 5 p.m. On Saturday, Tarleton will play Arkansas-Monticello at 11 a.m. and Oklahoma Panhandle State at 5 p.m.

After finishing last season 10-21 overall and 4-9 (12th) in the Lone Star Conference, sixth-year head coach Mary Schindler knows that she and her team will have to put 2009 behind them and focus on what they can do to improve in 2010 instead.

The TexAnns return six letterwinners from last season, including four starters, and bring in a crop of eight newcomers that includes two junior transfers. Schindler will have to find just the right mix of these players to become a competitor again in what has quickly become a power-stacked conference.

Tarleton is picked to finish 12th this season according to the preseason poll that was released at LSC Media Day, a month before the season opens.

Just ask any of the four seniors (Shea McBrearty, Catherine Cutbirth, Rachel Wolf, Margaret Luedecke) what they would like to accomplish this season and the answer you will get from each one of them is to, finish what they started and “get back to their winning ways”. The entire squad would like nothing more than to exceed expectations and find themselves back in the LSC postseason tournament with a shot at earning a bid to the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Tournament.

Is that a lofty goal for this team? Not if you ask McBrearty, Cutbirth, Wolf or Luedecke. They have won before and they can do it again.

Here's a breakdown of each of the TexAnn positions in 2010:

OUTSIDE HITTERS
Three seniors return to the outside/right side hitter position this year, along side five newcomers as well.

Rachel Wolf (3L, Windthorst), a 2009 all-LSC honorable mention selection enters her final season with the TexAnns after finishing last year second on the team with 287 kills (2.54 k/g) and third with 192 digs (1.7 d/g). A two-year starter for the TexAnns, Wolf will be heavily relied upon for both her leadership and her outstanding athletic ability on the court.

Also returning to the team this year is senior Catherine Cutbirth (3L, Monahans). Cutbirth got to see a lot of playing time last year, playing in 111 games in her first season as a starter. She tallied 169 kills (1.52 k/g) and 65 blocks (0.59 b/g), which included nine blocks-solo. She ranked second on the team with a .209 hitting percentage in 2009.

Schindler feels that Catherine's versatility on the court will be a valuable weapon for this year's team.

Margaeret Luedecke (3L, Austin) will provide added experience for the TexAnns at the outside position. The senior played in 96 games last year and is the type of player that can come into any match at any given situation. She can play the net - tallying 45 kills a year ago - and she can play the back row as well as she also finished her junior campaign with 171 digs (1.78 d/g).

New to the squad this year is a pair of junior transfers, Irelis Ilarraza (TR, Veroes, Venezuela) and Breawn Waynes (TR, Mesquite). They will join a trio of incoming freshmen, Katie Covell (HS, Lytle), Flynn Harrell (HS, Brownwood) and Stacie Murrah (HS, San Antonio).

Ilarraza played two seasons at Northwest College out of Powell, Wyo., where she had over 600 kills and a career .297 hitting percentage. A versatile player on both offense and defense, she recorded 297 digs and 54 aces as well.

Waynes spent last season at Eastfield College where she earned first-team all-conference and all-region honors after putting together a stellar season with 314 kills and 336 digs. She could be a force at the serve as well, finishing last season with 40 aces. Waynes played her freshman season at LSC rival Southwestern Oklahoma, recording over 200 kills and picking up 99 digs in 102 games for the Bulldogs.

“Bre and Irelis both bring in a great deal of experience to the team,” Schindler said. “The two of them will make immediate contributions this year.”

Murrah was the first offseason addition for Schindler as she signed back in November to play for the TexAnns this season. Murrah, who plays primarily at the right side hitter position, lettered in volleyball for three seasons at O'Conner High School in San Antonio. She was instrumental in guiding her squad to a combined 80-8 record her final two seasons.

Covell and Flynn joined the TexAnns late in the spring.

MIDDLE BLOCKERS
The TexAnns will rely on both Cutbirth and junior Monica Hamel (1L, Mesquite) at the middle blocker position this year.

The two returning players will have to fill a void that was left by outgoing senior and three-time all-LSC selection, Shay Gracy. Also gone from the team is Erin Lynn after one season with the TexAnns. Both players saw action in over 100 games each and combined for 175 total blocks.

While no stranger to the middle blocker position, Cutbirth will step into the role for the first time as a starter this year.

Hamel returns to the team after seeing limited action last season, although she transfered to Tarleton last season after spending her freshman season at Jan Jacinto Junior College where she led her team in blocks during the 2008 season. She will be able to build on the 20 games she played in as a TexAnn last year, recording 21 kills and seven total blocks.

Ilarraza could provide some depth at the position too, as could Covell. Wolf may see an increased role in the middle if needed.

“We do not have the depth at middle blocker that we have had in the past, but these ladies will not let that effect how they will play on the court this season,” Schindler said. “They know the challenges that we face and I believe they will use that to better improve their own games - no matter where they are on the floor.”

SETTERS
Junior setter Jessie Hartman (2L, Smithson Valley) returns as the primary setter for the TexAnns following a great season in 2009. She did not receive any postseason hardware like she did as a freshman when she earned all-LSC honorable mention accolades, but her statistics would leave you to believe otherwise.

Hartman finished last season eighth in the LSC averaging 8.19 assists per game. That is a full 2.00 assists more (6.19) than she averaged as a freshman in which she did not rank among the top-10 setters in the league.

No matter how you look at it, Hartman did nothing but improve on what she did as a freshman as she racked up 926 assists last year - compared to the 737 assists she had in 2008. She led the team with 24 service aces last season as well.

Heading into her junior year, Hartman already ranks fourth among the school's all-time assists leaders with 1,663 assisted sets in her career. With two more years to play, she is on pace to crush the all-time record of 2,313 assists, needing just 651 successful sets in 2010 to surpass Christina Ortiz (2005-06).

Backing up Hartman will be Danielle Barker (HS, Amarillo), a highly-touted setter out of Amarillo High School, which is one of the most prominent high school volleyball programs in the country.

Barker was a three-year letterwinner for the Sandies and helped lead her team to three consecutive state titles. The incoming freshman recorded 99 kills, 54 service aces and 244 digs as a senior. She tallied 887 assists this past season and finished the year ranked 61st, state-wide, with a 6.0 assists per set average.

LIBERO/DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST
Senior Shea McBrearty (3L, Dripping Springs) returns to anchor the libero position following another record-breaking season in 2009. A two-time all-LSC honorable mention selection, McBrearty broke her own single-season digs record as a junior last year. She tallied 514 digs (4.55 d/g) in 2009, topping her previous mark of 489 digs she set in 2008.

The ball-hawking defender heads into this season second all-time in Tarleton history with a career total of 1,334 digs. She will need just 130 digs to set the new all-time record.

With McBrearty in her final season, Schindler needed to add depth to the roster at the libero/defensive pecialist position this offseason. That is exactly what she did, signing a pair of incoming freshman liberos to the roster.

Emily Klein (HS, Amarillo), a teammate of Barker's at Amarillo High School, joins the TexAnns this season after playing two seasons of varsity volleyball for the Sandies.

Klein had 22 aces and 205 digs her senior season as she too helped guide her team to a pair of state championships.

Also added to the roster is freshman, Paige Hamilton (HS, Smithson Valley), who as a sophomore at Smithson Valley was a teammate of Hartman's.

The newest TexAnn was a three-time all-district selection, which included first team accolades her final two seasons with the Rangers. A leader both on and off the court, Hamilton excelled as softball player and in the classroom as well. She was an all-district selection on the diamond and was two-time all-academic selection as well.