The Teams: Tarleton Texans (7-9, 0-2 WAC) vs. Lamar Cardinals (4-11, 0-1 WAC); UTRGV Vaqueros (9-6, 1-1 WAC)
Where: Stephenville, TX
Facility: Wisdom Gym
Time: 6 p.m. CT (Thu); 1 p.m. CT (Sat)
Streaming Platform: ESPN+
 
TEXAN VOLLEYBALL MATCH DAY
There's a song by Texas Country artist Cory Morrow titled, "21 Days", and the chorus sings about being on the road for 21 days.
 
Well, Morrow has nothing on the Texans.
 
Tarleton has not played a home match since September 1, which includes a 13-game road trip to Stockton, California, Stony Brook, New York, and back to the Lone Star State, but that all ends Thursday night when the Texans host Lamar at 6 p.m. for WAC Action. It will be the first of four straight home matches for Tarleton, who also hosts UTRGV at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
 
The matches will be streamed live on ESPN+ and live stats will be available. Links to follow the action are available on the volleyball schedule page at TarletonSports.com.
 
ABOUT THE MATCHUP

• Tarleton will continue WAC Division play this week at home when the Texans play host to a new and less-new league foe in Wisdom Gym. All members of the Southwest Division of the Western Athletic Conference, Lamar is in its first year as a league member while the Texans will square off with UTRGV for Tarleton's second season of WAC action.
• Tarleton and Lamar have never met on the volleyball court. Meanwhile, the Texans and UTRGV will meet for the sixth time in program history. The Texans and Vaqueros played in the spring regular season finale last season and the Texans won both matchups. Tarleton is all-time against the Vaqueros, dating back to 1986 when they were UT-Brownsville. UTRGV was formed in 2013 when UT-Brownsville and UT-Pan American merged.

 
QUICK HITS

• Entering the seventh week of the season, Tarleton is the No. 5-ranked team in the WAC in team hit percentage. Tarleton enters the week hitting .216 on the fifth-fewest errors in the league. Saturday's match against UTRGV will be a showdown of two of the league's top offenses as the Texans face off against the No. 3-ranked hitting Vaqueros (.223).
• 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. 3 in the division and No. 4 in the WAC at 201 kills. Her 3.26 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 16 matches, McNeil ranks No. 1 in the WAC in total blocks (63.0) and is sixth in the WAC in blocks per set (1.05).
• As a team, Tarleton has hit .250 or higher in six of their last 11 matches with a season-high .400 hit percentage against St. Thomas. The Texans had 45 kills with a season-low seven errors on 95 swings against the Tommies. It was Tarleton's first .400 hit performance as a Division I program, the 18th such performance in program history, and the first since hitting .408 against Midwestern State on Oct. 26, 2018.
• Tarleton put down a season-high 10 service aces in their sweep of Texas Southern. It was the first time Tarleton had 10 aces in a match since Nov. 22, 2019 in a sweep against Texas Woman's.
• Amari Franklin has stepped back into the setter spotlight for the Texans. Franklin transferred to Tarleton as a setter ahead of the 2019 season and spent last spring transitioning to outside hitter. Her 15 assists against Sam Houston last Thursday are the most for Franklin since dishing out 20 assists against West Texas A&M on Oct. 22, 2019.

 
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	1136
9.	Amber Strange	2017-21	1132
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	2559
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

• SUPER SENIOR SEASON: The spring semester did not count as a season of eligibility for student-athletes around the country. Amber Strange and Natalya Chatham have been given the opportunity to return for an additional season of competition.
• 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."
• ALL-WAC KERSEY: Since joining the Western Athletic Conference in 2020, Lauren Kersey has been a mainstay on the All-WAC teams. The senior from Norman, Oklahoma was an All-WAC First Team selection following the spring season and is a Preseason All-WAC selection this fall.
• NO PLACE LIKE HOME: Tarleton has been racking up the frequent flyer miles through the first three weeks of the season. The Texans went from Stephenville to Miami to New York and California for tournament action. Tarleton traveled 9,512 miles over the first three weeks but will be playing in the state of Texas for the remainder of the season. In addition to the long trips, Tarleton has played 13 matches on the road since hosting Eastern Washington on Sept. 1.
• MEETING OF DIVISION'S TOP COACHES: The Southwest Division of the WAC features some of the most storied coaches in the Western Athletic Conference. After squaring off with the Division's two all-time winningest coaches in SHSU's Brenda Gray (737) and SFA's Debbie Humphreys (761), Mary Schindler and her 337 career victories will now stand across the net from UTRGV coach Todd Lowery, who has the third most wins in the WAC's Southwest Division (513).
• 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 96 NCAA Division I players in the country to top 200 kills. She is one of four players in the WAC with over 200 kills and joins Jayme Scott (205) of Bellarmine as the only players on reclassifying teams to reach the mark.
• 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 tied at No. 58 in the nation with 65 total blocks and she leads all reclassifying players in that category.

 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Tarleton will host Prairie View A&M and Abilene Christian next Thursday and Saturday in Wisdom Gym. The Texans and Panthers will square off next Thursday at 6 p.m. before the Wildcats come to town to rekindle an old rivalry Saturday afternoon.