STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton's offense continued to roll with another .400-plus hitting performance Saturday afternoon as the TexAnns swept Western New Mexico for their eight straight win – fifth in a row via sweep.


The TexAnn offense pounded the Mustangs to the tune of a .437 team hitting percentage for the second-highest output in the Lone Star Conference this season, behind their own performance against Eastern New Mexico last night (.444). It's the third .400-plus hitting performance in Tarleton's last five games, over which the TexAnns are hitting .362 as a team.
 
Saturday's win also marked the first time since 2008 that Tarleton has pulled off five straight sweeps in a season.
 
The afternoon got started with Western New Mexico jumping out to a quick 3-1 lead, but the TexAnns put a stop to that quickly. Tarleton answered with an 8-1 run to take a 9-4 lead.
 
After Western New Mexico pulled within three at 9-6, Tarleton took over by scoring 16 of the final 22 points to take the opening set 25-12. Over that final 16-6 run, Western New Mexico only managed back-to-back points one time.
 
Tarleton carried the dominance into the second set and distanced themselves from the Mustangs early on with 18 of the first 22 points for an 18-4 lead. The TexAnns finished off the second set with a 25-16 score.
 
The final set started in similar fashion as the second with the TexAnns jumping out to a 15-5 advantage. After a kill from the Mustangs, Abby Mackey landed a kill to make the score 16-6 and give the serve back to Tarleton.
 
Michaela Rodriguez would not relinquish the serve again.
 
The freshman defender from San Antonio served out the final nine points of the match as Tarleton went on to claim its largest margin of victory in a set this season. Hannah McManus and Jordyn Keamo blocked the final point of the match to cap off the win.
 
Hailey Roberts led the Tarleton offense with 14 kills on a .423 hitting percentage. Behind Roberts, the TexAnns got a balanced performance with Chandler Gow (.364), Rebecca Dauenhauer (.667), Hannah McManus (.500), Abby Mackey (.333), and Autumn Taylor (.250) had four kills each.
 
Jordyn Keamo continued to lead the way from the setter spot with 30 assists while Adrianna Knutson (12) and Michaela Rodriguez (10) led the way defensively with double-digit digs. The TexAnn defense held the Mustangs to a .051 hitting percentage, including a (-).111 in the third set.
 
Tarleton will hit the road for a key road stretch against LSC rivals, beginning Tuesday night with a 7 p.m. showdown in Kingsville against the Javelinas.