KINGSVILLE – Tarleton landed 77 kills Saturday afternoon, which is tied for the 11
th most in a single match in school history, as the No. 15 TexAnns roared past Texas A&M-Kingsville in a five-set thriller.
Tarleton came out swinging in the opening set as three runs of at least four consecutive points helped the TexAnns jump out to a quick 18-9 lead over the first 27 volleys. Kingsville pulled as close as four, but a kill from
Adriana Darthuy started a 4-1 TexAnn surge to close out the first set 25-18.
The Javelinas answered back with a 25-19 win in the second set to send the match to a pivotal third set.
Looking to gain momentum in the match, Tarleton jumped out to a 13-10 lead before the Javelinas stormed back and ultimately evened things up at 24-24. Tarleton took the advantage in extra points three times on kills from
Amber Strange, Darthuy, and
Jordyn Keamo before a bad set from Kingsville delivered a 2-1 advantage in the match for Tarleton.
Tarleton tried to rally from an early deficit in the fourth set and pulled as close as 23-22 late, but a service error and a Javelina kill forced a decisive fifth set.
The fifth set saw the score tied seven times over the first 14 points to 7-7 and two more times through 10-10 before
Alexis Applewhite gave Tarleton the last lead it would need. Applewhite landed a kill off a pass from Keamo, who led the team with a season-high 50 assists in the match, to put Tarleton up 11-10. A block and a kill from
Hannah McManus, as well as a Javelina error, set the TexAnns up at match point at 14-10. After a Kingsville kill, Darthuy put the match away with her 16
th kill of the afternoon.
Tarleton had four players with double-digit kills en route to its 77 total team kills.
Hailey Roberts landed 21 while Darthuy (16), Applewhite (12), and
Amber Strange (12) topped the 10-kill plateau. Keamo (8), McManus (7), and
Blanca Izquierdo (1) combined for the remaining 16 kills.
Keamo led the team with her 50 assists while Izquierdo added 14 off the bench. The Tarleton setters also combined for 34 digs as Keamo (24) and Izquierdo (10) boasted double-double performances.
Adrianna Knutson led the team with 25 digs while
Michaela Rodriguez added 16 of her own.
Tarleton will return home next weekend as the TexAnns host Cameron Friday night at 6 p.m. and Midwestern State Saturday at 2 p.m.