STEPHENVILLE – The No. 1-seeded TexAnns defeated No. 8-seed Eastern New Mexico 3-1 (25-19, 25-17, 23-25, 25-13) on Thursday to advance to the semifinals of the Lone Star Conference Volleyball Championships at Wisdom Gym.
 
Tarleton will take on No. 5 Cameron on Friday, Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m. in the LSC Tournament semifinals at Wisdom Gym.
 
The TexAnns (26-5) picked up where they left off in the regular season after finishing with six straight wins and continues to add to the school record for wins in a season. The TexAnns, who topped ENMU three times this season, also improve to 12-0 at home.
 
Hailey Roberts posted 15 kills to lead the TexAnns while Xzache Mathis, a second-team All-LSC selection, added 11 kills. Roberts now has 660 kills on the season as the Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Year inches closer to the conference record for kills in a season held by West Texas A&M's Sarah Butler, who had 735 in 1999.
 
Chandler Gow, a second-team All-LSC selection, had 44 assists for the TexAnns giving the sophomore 1,300 on the season. Gow needs 34 assists to break Christina Ortiz's single-season assists record set in 2005.
 
The TexAnns' 16 blocks were the second most on the season with six different players recording a block. Kenya Alexander, a first-team All-LSC selection, had a game-high nine blocks along with nine kills at a .333 hitting percentage. Meg Umbel, a second-team All-LSC selection, had seven blocks and six kills on a team-best .455 hitting percentage. Kelsey Raglin was the only TexAnn with double-digit digs, as the senior had 10 along with six kills and five blocks. Ayssa Garcia, another second-team All-LSC selection, had nine digs.
 
Tarleton couldn't have scripted a better start to the match by opening up with a 10-0 lead on ENMU with Roberts recording three kills on the run and Umbel blocking three attacks. ENMU would make it a 13-8 game before Tarleton went on a 5-2 run and would close out the set on Alexander's kill to win 25-19.
 
The two teams would split the first 10 points of the second set before Tarleton pulled ahead 12-8. Leading 15-12, The TexAnns went on a 5-1 run that forced a Greyhound timeout. Out of the timeout, Raglin delivered with an ace to make it 20-13 and Tarleton would cruise to a 25-17 second-set win.
 
The Greyhounds gave the TexAnns their toughest test in the third set. The set featured 12 ties and three lead changes. Tarleton had a 17-15 lead midway through the third set but the Greyhounds went on a 6-2 run to take a 21-19 advantage. Tarleton fought to make it a one-point game at 24-23, but couldn't complete the comeback, falling 23-25.
 
The TexAnns showed why they are the No. 1 seed in the tournament in the fourth set by closing out the Greyhounds to prevent a fifth and deciding set. Leading 5-4, a block by Raglin and Umbel sparked a 5-0 run for a 11-4 advantage. The TexAnns closed the match on a 6-2 run highlighted by a pair of blocks from Alexander and Raglin.