Box Score STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton battled back from down 2-1 in the match against St. Mary's to force a game five but fell to the Rattlers in a 18-16 fifth-set heartbreak in Wisdom Gym Tuesday night.
 
Despite career nights from Katie Covell, Jazmine Green and Danielle Barker, the TexAnns allowed St. Mary's to hit .208, .233 and .355 in sets two, three and five which led to the Rattler win.
 
The first set was tight, with Tarleton building as much as a four-point lead at 19-15 but unable to extend it beyond that as the Rattlers clawed back to make it a one-point game at 20-19.
 
Tarleton was finally able to pull away for good after two Rattler errors and kills from Meg Umbel and Katie Covell push the TexAnns to a 24-19 lead. After a Tarleton service error, the TexAnns claimed the set with a St. Mary's miscue.
 
In the second set, Tarleton appeared in control over most of the set – building a five-point lead at 17-12 – but the Rattlers reeled off eight straight points to take a 20-17 lead late in the set.
 
The TexAnns got three straight kills from Kaitlyn White, Umbel and Covell to knot the score at 20-20 but the Rattlers responded with a 5-2 run down the stretch to take the game 25-22 and even the set at 1-1.
 
Tarleton hit just .071 in the second set with 13 kills and nine errors on 56 attempts.
 
The TexAnns appeared to stuff the Rattler momentum by jumping out to an early lead and eventually building a 12-9 lead, but the Rattlers came back with an 8-2 run to take a 17-14 lead.
 
Tarleton ended the run and tied the game at 17-17 with three straight kills by Umbel and a pair from Jazmine Green. However, St. Mary's answered right back by scoring five of the next six points and eight of the last 12 to take the set.
 
In the fourth set, Tarleton got off to its best start of the match – building a 10-4 lead early on after falling behind 0-2. A Rattler service error started a 10-2 Tarleton run, which was built on four Rattler errors and kills from Stacie Murrah, Umbel, Green and Covell.
 
The dominance continued from there as the TexAnns ended the set on a 15-6 run to force a fifth game with a 25-10 victory.
 
Tarleton took a slim 3-2 advantage to open the fifth set before St. Mary's went on a 5-2 run to take a 7-5 lead and force a Tarleton timeout. The teams switched sides with the Rattlers leading 8-6.
 
Off the switch, the Rattlers extended their lead to 11-8 but back-to-back kills from Green and Covell before a Rattler error tied the score at 11-11. St. Mary's then went on to build a 14-12 lead before Covell kept Tarleton alive with her 15th kill of the night.
 
Tarleton took a 16-15 advantage with three of the next four points coming off kills from Covell and Green. Covell's kills tied the game at 14-14 and 15-15 while Green's kill gave Tarleton a 16-15 lead.
 
The Rattlers rallied, however, by scoring the next two to take the match.
 
Covell and Green each had 17 kills to lead the team – which were career highs for both – while Murrah also cracked double-figures with 10.
 
Danielle Barker also had a career high in assists with 63, topping the 58 she recorded Sept. 13 against Western Oregon. Barker's 63 assists tie her with Brooke McDowell for the fifth-most in a game. McDowell did it Oct. 31, 2001.
 
Emily Klein led the team with 28 digs while Covell's 19 gave her a double-double. Kelsey Raglin (15) and Lacy Hodges (12) also cracked double figures in digs.
 
QUICK HITS
- This is the third straight match between the TexAnns and Rattlers to go to five sets. The last time these teams played less than a five-set match was Nov. 1, 2008 when Tarleton swept the Rattlers in San Antonio.
 
- Just four days removed from her last career night, Jazmine Green topped Friday's career high 14 kills with 17 tonight. Over the last three games, Green has 38 total kills.
 
- Covell also had a career night in kills, topping her previous high of 15 - which she has done twice.
 
- Coming in ahead of Barker and McDowell for the most fifth-most assists in a single game is Christina Ortiz and Mary Schindler with 64, Lindsey Hillegass and Brooke McDowell with 65, Morgan Betty with 66 and McDowell holds the record for most assists in a game with 76 - Nov. 6, 1999 against Angelo State.