The Teams: Tarleton Texans (10-10, 2-3 WAC) vs. California Baptist Lancers (9-8, 4-3 WAC); Dixie State Trailblazers (4-11, 3-4 WAC)
Where: Abilene, TX
Facility: Moody Coliseum
Time: 1 p.m. CT (Fri); 4 p.m. CT (Sat)
Streaming Platform: N/A
 
TEXAN VOLLEYBALL MATCH DAY
Just days removed from defeating Abilene Christian in the rekindled longstanding rivalry in Stephenville, Tarleton will turnaround make a visit to Moody Coliseum in Abilene for a pair of neutral site matches against West Division foes from the WAC – California Baptist and Dixie State.
 
Live stats will be available. Links to follow the game can be found on the volleyball schedule page at TarletonSports.com. Live streaming information has not been finalized. Stay tuned to the Tarleton Volleyball schedule page at TarletonSports.com or the Tarleton Volleyball twitter account (@TarletonVB) for updates.
 
ABOUT THE MATCHUP

• The Texans and Lancers met last spring for the first time as league opponents and CBU won both matches in Wisdom Gym. Tarleton earned its first win against a program from the state of California earlier this season by defeating UC-San Diego in four sets. Tarleton is 1-4 as a D1 program against schools from California.
• Both matches this weekend pair Tarleton against a school in its NCAA transition period. The Texans and Trailblazers are in year two of transition to Division I while the Lancers are in their final surge of the four-year probationary period. The Texans are 3-3 over the last two seasons against fellow transitioning members with wins over Dixie State, St. Thomas, and UC-San Diego.
• Tarleton and Dixie State's history dates back to the 2018 season as South Central Region powers in NCAA Division II. Both schools made the jump to the WAC in the same year and split their two games in Stephenville last spring. Dixie State holds a 2-1 edge in the all-time series.

 
QUICK HITS

• Tarleton is playing out the remainder of the season with heavy hearts following the tragic passing of former assistant coach Molly Howard-Gerwig on Oct. 15, 2021. The Texans paid tribute to their late assistant coach with a 'Spike Out Cancer' game against Prairie View A&M. Howard-Gerwig was the top coach on Mary Schindler's bench during the Texans' final season of NCAA Division II competition in 2019.
• As a team, the Texans enter this weekend ranked No. 3 in the Western Athletic Conference in hit percentage (.238). Tarleton is one of four schools across both divisions with over 900 kills (908) as a team and boasts the fifth-fewest errors in the league.
• Of the top 10 individual leaders in total kills in the WAC, six of them reside in the Southwest Division with Lauren Kersey at No. 2 in the division and No. 3 in the WAC at 255 kills. Her 3.40 kills per set is ranked No. 4 in the division and No. 7 in the WAC.
• Lorin McNeil has proven to be one of the elite blockers in the Western Athletic Conference. Through 20 matches, McNeil ranks No. 1 in the WAC in total blocks (81.0) and is sixth in the WAC in blocks per set (1.08).
• Elise Smith continues to be one of the most efficient attackers in the WAC. The junior leads the Southwest Division and is third in the WAC in hit percentage with a .351 hit percentage. The junior Louisiana native has 80 kills on 174 attacks with a mere 19 miscues. Lauren Kersey has also moved into the league's top 10 with a .305 hit percentage.
• Tarleton exploded offensively against Prairie View A&M last week. The Texans hit a season-high .446 against the Panthers for their second .400-hit performance of the season and the 19^th in program history. It was the fifth-best offensive performance in program history passing a .444 effort against Eastern New Mexico on Oct. 14, 2016. Tarleton had three players attempt double-digit attacks and all landed kills at a .471 clip or higher – Elise Smith (.636 on 11 swings), Lauren Kersey (.545 on 22 swings) and Carmen Kinsey (.471 on 17 swings).

 
WAC UPDATES

• WAC-ESPN+ ENTERS THREE-YEAR PARTNERSHIP: Continuing a relationship that spans more than 31 years, the Western Athletic Conference and ESPN have announced a new multi-year, multi-platform media rights agreement that will see over 500 annual events on ESPN+ and the ESPN App.
• FOUR NEW MEMBERS, ONE ON THE WAY: Just a year after welcoming two schools to the league in Dixie State and Tarleton, the WAC has opened its arms once again by bringing in the 'Texas 4'group of Abilene Christian, Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston, and Lamar. Tarleton will also bring in Southern Utah next year to grow by seven members over a three-year span.
• OWNING THE LONE STAR STATE: With the addition of the four Texas schools, the WAC now boasts the largest presence of any conference in the nation at the NCAA Division I level in the state of Texas.
• LEAGUE DIVISIONS: With the addition of the four Texas schools, the WAC has gone into two divisions for the first time since 2004. The Texans are a part of the Southwest Division that includes all six of the league's Texas schools – Tarleton, ACU, SFA, Sam Houston, Lamar, and UTRGV.
• PRESEASON POLL: Tarleton was picked to finish third in the Southwest Division of the Western Athletic Conference. With 15 points, the Texans were picked behind SFA (24) and Sam Houston (21) in a division that includes all six of the league's Texas schools.

 
1,000-KILL CLUB
Amber Strange and Lauren Kersey have both eclipsed 1,000 career kills for their careers and will spend the rest of the season climbing Tarleton's all-time kill list. The complete top-10 list is as follows:
 

#	Player	Years	Kills
1.	Hailey Roberts	2014-17	2389
2.	Desiree Reed	2002-05	1545
3.	Sharon Lister	1996-99	1422
4.	Lacey Adkisson	2000-03	1355
5.	Missy Castro	2004-08	1276
6.	Belinda Hardee	1990-93	1261
7.	Kathy Buckler	1983-86	1194
8.	Lauren Kersey	2018-21	1190
9.	Amber Strange	2017-21	1148
10.	Stacie Murrah	2010-13	1117
11.	Marissa Galich	1995-98	1095

 
1,000-KILL TEAMMATES
Lauren Kersey and Amber Strange have both joined exclusive company with over 1,000 career kills. They are the second set of teammates in program history to play together with over 1,000 kills. Previously, Marissa Galich and Sharon Lister at the end of the 1998 season were the only other 1,000-kill teammates to play together in program history.
 
TEXAN TRIO FOR THE RECORD BOOKS
Only one time in Tarleton's program history has a setter with at least 2,500 career assists ever played alongside a hitter with at least 1,000 career kills – Danielle Barker and Stacie Murrah in 2013. With over 2,500 career assists, Kayla Brannon becomes the second player in program history to play alongside a teammate with 1,000 career kills and the first in program history to make passes to two such teammates – Lauren Kersey and Amber Strange.
 
2,000-ASSIST CLUB
Kayla Brannon is among the top-5 all-time in the Tarleton assist leaders. Last season, she reached the 2,000-assist mark on a kill from Lauren Kersey for the 30th point (16-14) of set three against Dixie State on March 9. Brannon is the sixth player in the Tarleton top-10 list in assists to have played under head coach Mary Schindler, who is also No. 9 on the list. She passed Christina Ortiz in the win over UC San Diego on the same day that she set up Lauren Kersey's 1,000th career kill. The complete top-10 list is as follows:
 

#	School	League	Wins
1.	Danielle Barker	2010-13	3324
2.	Jessie Hartman	2008-11	3266
3.	Kayla Brannon	2018-21	2650
4.	Jordyn Keamo	2016-17	2404
5.	Christina Ortiz	2005-06	2313
6.	Didi Ebert	1997-98	2131
7.	Chandler Gow	2014-17	2020

 
NOTABLES

• WHAT THEY'RE SAYING – PROGRAM ON THE RISE: On July 6 in the El Paso Herald-Post, UTEP head coach Ben Wallis said the following about the Tarleton Volleyball program: "Tarleton State is a program on the rise who had significant wins last season and has had a long run of successful seasons under its head coach Mary Schindler."
• CAN'T SPELL KERSEY WITHOUT A K(ILL): While reclassifying student-athletes and programs are not eligible for national statistic rankings, Lauren Kersey is still proving to be one of the best in the nation for total kills. The Tarleton senior is one of only 90 NCAA Division I players in the country with 230 kills. She is one of three players in the WAC with over 255 kills and leads all NCAA Division I reclassifying players in total kills.
• BEST BLOCKER IN THE BIZ: While reclassifying student-athletes and programs are not eligible for national statistic rankings, Lorin McNeil is still proving to be one of the best in the nation for total blocks. The Tarleton senior is among the nation's top 50 players with 81 total blocks and she leads all reclassifying players in that category.
• KINSEY ON A ROLL: After leading Tarleton to a pair of victories last week, Tarleton senior outside hitter Carmen Kinsey has earned her first career TicketSmarter WAC Player of the Week award. Kinsey, a senior from Norman, Okla., turned in a pair of dominant performances to lead the Texans to a perfect 2-0 record on the week. In back-to-back home matches, Kinsey combined to average 3.57 kills per set on .490 hitting while recording no errors. Her week was highlighted by a 17-kill outing in a four-set victory over Abilene Christian on Saturday. Against the Wildcats, Kinsey posted a .500 hitting percentage to account for 4.5 points per set.

 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Tarleton is on the back nine of its season schedule. After the two games this weekend, Tarleton will have seven more matches left this season including three at home. The Texans will play three matches next week beginning at home Tuesday night against Incarnate Word at 6 p.m. Tarleton will visit North Texas on Thursday and Abilene Christian on Saturday.