SILVER CITY, N.M. – No. 15 Tarleton volleyball continued its winning ways, running its win streak up to 10 games with a road sweep of Western New Mexico on Saturday.
It's the third time in program history and the second time in two years the TexAnns have won at least 10 games in a row. The TexAnns won 11 straight in 2015 and a program-record 12 consecutive matches in 1991.
Tarleton (17-4, 9-1) landed 43 percent of its attacks for 53 kills while holding the Mustangs to a .083 hitting percentage. The TexAnns won the sets convincingly, 25-22, 25-9, 25-13.
With the Mustangs coming off a upset win over No. 17 Angelo State on Friday, the TexAnns knew they had their hands full to close out the road trip. The opening set was no easy task with 10 ties and 10 lead changes in the first 34 points. Tied at 17-17, the TexAnns went on a 3-0 run with kills from
Hailey Roberts and
Amber Strange to give them some breathing room. The Mustangs worked the set back to a one-point game at 22-21, but
Hannah McManus and Ariana Darthuy returned the favor with back-to-back kills. A service error gave the TexAnns the final point of the set and a 1-0 lead.
Tarleton trailed 5-4 in the second set before a huge run mirrored its current win streak. The TexAnns reeled off 12 straight points to jump out to a 16-5 advantage. Darthuy's three kills during the stretch and
Blanca Izquierdo's two aces sparked the TexAnn offense. Tarleton added another 5-0 run to pad its lead to 21-6 before closing out the set, 25-9.
Tarleton led throughout the third set en route to its 11
th sweep of the season. The TexAnns had a trio of 3-0 runs to stride past the Mustangs. Darthuy's kill late in the set made it a double-digit lead at 18-8. After Roberts and Strange blocked a Mustang attack, the TexAnns went to Roberts, Darthuy and
Alexis Applewhite for the final three points of the match.
Darthuy posted a match-best 15 kills on a .379 hitting percentage. Roberts added 14 kills (.385) and 11 digs for the double-double. Setting up Darthuy and Roberts was
Jordyn Keamo, who led all players with 33 assists, and Izquierdo with 11 assists. Keamo added seven kills on eight attacks (.875) along with eight digs and four blocks.
Five players had at least five kills, with Applewhite and Strange each posting six kills apiece. Strange also recorded three blocks. Defensively,
Adrianna Knutson led all players with 14 digs, while
Hannah McManus had a team-high five blocks.
Tarleton returns home for the next four matches where they are 8-0 on the season at Wisdom Gym. The TexAnns will begin the four-game homestand with Texas A&M-Kingsville on Tuesday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m.