THE GAME
Tarleton State makes its debut in the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament Friday afternoon as they play the opening game of the national playoff tournament from Brownson Arena in Grand Junction, Colo. against Metro State at 12 p.m. MST / 1 p.m. CST.
THE BROADCAST
The game will have a live radio broadcast presented by the Tarleton Sports Network presented by North Texas Ford Dealers. The Voice of the TexAnns, Keltin Wiens, will serve as the play-by-play for Tarleton basketball this season. The radio broadcast can be heard on KTRL 90.5 FM in Stephenville and surrounding areas or online at TarletonSports.com/ListenLive. The pregame show will begin 15 minutes prior to tip-off.
THE OPPONENT
Metro State comes into the tournament as the No. 3 seed in the regional tournament with a record of 23-6 on the season and are ranked No. 20 in the nation by the AVCA. This is the 22nd appearance for Metro State in the national tournament and head coach Debbie Hendricks has a record of 13-18 in NCAA tournament games with one national championship under her belt during the 1997 season at West Texas A&M.
THE SERIES
This is the first meeting between Tarleton State and Metro State.
LSC TOURNAMENT RUN
Tarleton State ended West Texas' run of nine consecutive LSC Tournament Championships en route to winning the first conference title in school history. The TexAnns went to five-sets in both the semifinals and finals of the tournament. Against West Texas A&M in the semifinals, the TexAnns won the first two sets before falling in the next two and being forced to play from an 11-5 deficit in the fifth set. The TexAnns answered, however, and score 10 of the final 12 points to win the set and advance to their first championship appearance. In the finals, Tarleton rallied once again with after falling behind 2-1 in the match and coming back to win the fifth set and bring home the trophy.
LSC AWARD WINNERS
Hailey Roberts,
Kenya Alexander,
Katie Covell and
Kaitlyn White were all honored by the conference during last weekend's postseason tournament. Roberts and Alexander were named All-LSC first-team while
Katie Covell earned second-team honors and White was named honorable mention. Roberts was also named the LSC Freshman of the Year while Alexander garnered LSC Defensive Player of the Year recognition. Covell and White were also named to the LSC Championship All-Tournament team while Roberts was named the MVP of the Championship Tournament.
ALL-REGION HONORS
Hailey Roberts and
Kenya Alexander earned first-team all-region honors by Daktronics Wednesday afternoon, making them the first TexAnns to earn all-region honors as an NCAA institution.
HOT START TO THE SEASON
Tarleton opened the season with a record of 8-1, which was the second-best start to a season through the first nine games since starting the 2009 season 9-0.
COVELL CLOSES IN ON MILESTONE
Fifth-year senior
Katie Covell comes into her first NCAA regional game just 13 digs shy of 1,500 for her career (1,487). She is currently third all-time in school history in digs and if she reaches the 1,500-dig mark, will become just the third TexAnn to reach that plateau joining
Emily Klein (1,656) and Shea McBrearty (1,847).
COVELL SEASON MARK: DIGS
With 513 digs this season,
Katie Covell enters Friday's game in a tie with Shea McBrearty for the fourth-best season of digs in school history. With two digs, she will move into third place behind
Emily Klein's 2012 and 2013 seasons with 599 and 604 digs.
ROBERTS SEASON MARK: KILLS
Hailey Roberts has the No. 6-best single-season mark for kills with 477 total kills this season. The only TexAnns with better offensive seasons are Kathy Buckler (1986; 478), Desiree Reed (2005; 489), Mendi Matus (2002; 489), Jelena Miljanic (1999; 524) and Missy Castro (2004; 524).
ROBERTS SEASON MARK: ACES
Hailey Roberts has the No. 10-best season in service aces with 57 and is three away from passing Julie Hamilton's 2005 mark of 59 for ninth place.
ALEXANDER SEASON MARK: BLOCKS
With 173 total blocks,
Kenya Alexander now has tied Paula Spears for the No. 4-best blocking season in school history. The only TexAnns with more total blocks in a season are Jana Boston (1989; 192), Nikki McNorton (2011; 196) and Kathy Buckler (1984; 211).
TOPS IN THE NATION IN BLOCKS
At 1.49 blocks per set,
Kenya Alexander is No. 2 in the nation in blocking. She trails only Callie Whetstone of Missouri Southern at 1.50. As a team, Tarleton is ranked No. 2 in the nation with 2.65 blocks per set behind only Northwest Nazarene at 2.78.
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
With every win, Tarleton State will continue its season in the national playoffs. If Tarleton wins against Metro State, the TexAnns will advance to the regional semifinals Saturday at 5 p.m. MST/6 p.m. CST against the winner of Colorado Mines and Arkansas-Fort Smith.
