GAME DAY INFORMATION

When: Friday-Saturday, September 4-5, 2015 | 12 p.m. - 4 p.m. - 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Where: San Angelo, Texas | Junell Center

Records:  Tarleton 0-0 (2014: 24-8)

Opponents: Chadron State 0-0 (2014: 3-24) | Newman 0-0 (2014:15-14) Texas-Permian Basin 0-0 (12-16) | Western New Mexico 0-0 (2014: 10-15)

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AT A GLANCE
Tarleton volleyball opens the 2015 season on the road in the Angelo State Invitational in San Angelo where the TexAnns will play four games over the weekend with the season opener at noon on Friday.
 
THE GAMES
Chadron State (Neb.) – Friday, Sept. 4, 12 p.m.The TexAnns are 1-1 all time against Chadron State, with the last match coming in 2000. Chadron State went 3-24 in 2014 and is picked to finish 14^th out of 15 teams in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference preseason poll.

Newman (Kan.)– Friday, Sept. 4, 4 p.m.The TexAnns are 2-0 against Newman, most recently a 3-2 win last season in Stephenville. The other win, also 3-2, came in 2007. Newman went 15-14 in 2014 and is picked to finish 5^th out of 9 teams in the Heartland Conference.

Texas–Permian Basin – Saturday, Sept. 5, 10 a.m.The TexAnns are 3-5 against UTPB since they first played in 2004. The two teams haven't played since 2011 when UTPB won 3-0. Two of three Tarleton's wins in the series were sweeps. UTPB went 12-16 in 2014 and is picked to finish 7^th of 9 teams in the Heartland Conference.

Western New Mexico – Saturday, Sept. 5, 4 p.m.The TexAnns are 1-8 against Western New Mexico dating back to 1988, but Tarleton won last year's match 3-2 against the Mustangs. WNM went 10-15 in 2014 and is picked to finish 9^th of 15 teams in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
 
PRESEASON POLLS
Tarleton is picked to finish second in the Lone Star Conference behind West Texas A&M, receiving five first-place votes.  This marks the best preseason ranking the TexAnns have had in program history. The TexAnns received 37 votes in the NCAA National poll, finishing just outside of the top 25.
 
PRESEASON AWARDS
Hailey Roberts, the reigning LSC Freshman of the Year, was named the LSC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year while senior middle blocker Kenya Alexander, last year's LSC Defensive Player of the Year, was named the LSC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
 
APPROACHING 300 WINS
Tarleton volleyball has 296 wins in the NCAA era, with 180 of the wins coming under the direction of head coach Mary Schindler, the school's all-time wins leader for volleyball (180-134 in 10 seasons).
 
BIG-TIME RETURNS
The TexAnns return 10 members from last year's Lone Star Conference Tournament Championship team. Of the notable returners, Alexander is back for her senior season after leading the nation in total blocks with 183, ranking fourth on the Tarleton single-season record (Kathy Buckler, 1984, had 211).  The TexAnns ranked second in the nation as a team with 2.67 blocks per set (Northwest Nazarene 2.82). Roberts was fifth in the nation in kills with 509 as a freshman, ranking second on the Tarleton single-season record (Missy Castro, 2004, and Jelena Miljanic, 1999, had 524) and was tied for 11^th in the nation in aces with 60.
 
RECAPPING THE 2014 HISTORIC RUN
Tarleton went 24-8 last season en route to their first-ever Lone Star Conference Tournament Championship after a pair of five-set thrillers over West Texas A&M and Angelo State. Tarleton earned the No. 6 seed in the South Central Regional tournament in Grand Junction, Colorado where they upset No. 20 Metro State 3-0 in their NCAA Tournament debut.
 
HOME OPENER
Tarleton will make their 2015 home debut on Tuesday, Sept. 8 against Howard Payne at 7 p.m. in the Wisdom Volleyball Gym.