Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 SAN ANGELO – Tarleton State opened the season with a doubleheader sweep of South Central Regional foes, Arkansas-Fort Smith and Western New Mexico, to begin the regular season at the Kathleen Brasfield Invitational at Angelo State.
 
"It was a good day for us and I'm very proud of the effort," said head coach Mary Schindler. "It was a team effort. We earned two great wins over two very good regional teams. Now we just need to continue to carry this momentum into tomorrow's matches and through the rest of the season."
  
Tarleton was firing on all cylinders in Friday's season opener as the TexAnns dropped regional powerhouse Arkansas-Fort Smith in four sets at the Angelo State Kathleen Brasfield Invitational.
 
True freshman Hailey Roberts made her presence known in her collegiate debut as the 6-0 outside hitter from Cedar Park etched her name in the TexAnn record books with just one match.
 
Roberts recorded 27 kills and 22 digs in Friday's opener. The 27 digs ties her for the eighth most all-time in a single match in TexAnn history and is the most in a single match since Rachel Wolf dropped 27 against Fort Hays State on Oct. 8, 2010.
 
Her 27-kill effort also marks the second consecutive season in which a TexAnn has opened the season with a 20-kill performance in her Tarleton debut – joining Kaitlyn White, who had 21 in last season's opener.
 
White and Roberts combined for the first point of the season when White landed a kill shot off an assist from Roberts to get things started. A kill by Ashley Rine and a block from Rine and Kenya Alexander followed immediately and pushed Tarleton to an early 3-0 lead.
 
Tarleton pushed the set-one lead to as many as six, but the Lions clawed back to within one late in the set to make it 23-22 Tarleton. The TexAnns didn't panic, though, as kills from Roberts and Rine secured the first-set win.
 
In the second set, Arkansas-Fort Smith overcame an 11-10 Tarleton lead by ending the set on a 15-7 run to even the match 1-1.
 
The momentum stayed with UAFS in the beginning of the third set as the Lions jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Rine got Tarleton on the board with a kill shot before White served up three straight points to even the game at 4-4.
 
The teams stayed even through 14-14 before Rine struck again off an assist from Chandler Gow to give the TexAnns a 15-14 lead. Tarleton wouldn't trail again en route to a 25-22 victory in the third set.
 
Rine continued her offensive attack by getting Tarleton on the board first in set four.
 
After the teams kept things even at 7-7 through the first 14 points, a Roberts kill gave Tarleton the last lead it would need at 8-7 as the TexAnns held onto the advantage over the rest of the set en route to a 25-23 victory and a 3-1 match win.
 
In addition to her 27 kills and 22 digs, Roberts posted a team-high .383 hitting percentage. Rine and White also had double-figure kills with 13 and 10, respectively, while White added 17 digs to post a double-double of her own.
 
Katie Covell was the team leader in digs with 26 while Tarleton's freshmen setters, Gow and Emily Medlin, combined for 56 assists. Gow posted a team-high 36 assists while Medlin added 20.
  
In the second game of the day, Tarleton improved to 2-0 by knocking off another regional foe, Western New Mexico, in a five-set thriller.
 
The Mustangs, who are coming off an appearance in the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament last year, got off to a fast start in the opening set and eventually took a lead as late as 20-16 before White swung the momentum for the TexAnns.
 
White landed a kill shot off a pass from Medlin to bring Tarleton to 17-20 and begin a 9-3 run down the stretch to complete the comeback and take the first set 25-23. Over that final run, Tarleton got kills from White, Rine and Roberts, a service ace from Katie Covell and three errors from the Mustangs.
 
In the second set, Tarleton once again found itself trailing by four late in the set – this time down 18-14. However, they were unable to complete the comeback despite a valiant effort to tie the game at 23-23 before a WNMU kill and a Tarleton error evened the match at 1-1.
 
Tarleton opened the third set with a 5-1 run and led the entire way, leading by as many as six and never less than two.
 
The Mustangs came to within a pair at 22-20 but Roberts landed a kill off a pass from Gow to push the Tarleton lead to 23-20. After a WNMU kill, Tarleton got a point off a Mustang service error and then ended the set at 25-21 on a kill from Jasmyne Brown to take a 2-1 advantage into the fourth set.
 
Over the first 32 points, the set stayed tight with neither team leading by more than five and then coming to a 16-16 tie. After a Mustang timeout at 16-16, Western New Mexico ended the set on a 9-1 run to secure the set and force a fifth game.
 
In the final game, Tarleton had to play from behind after being down 8-5 when the teams made their fifth-set court switch. The TexAnns answered back, however, when a Roberts kill off a Gow pass made it 8-6 and started a 9-2 TexAnn run to claim the match 3-2.
 
Roberts again led the team with 24 kills to go along with 14 digs for her second straight double-double. White added 12 kills while Covell once again led the team with 26 digs. Covell's 26 digs in both games tied her previous career high.
 
Gow led the team with 26 assists against Western New Mexico while Medlin added 16.
 
Tarleton State will continue competing in the Kathleen Brasfield Invitational tomorrow, beginning at 10 a.m. against Missouri Southern and wrapping up against Arkansas-Monticello at 4 p.m.