Tarleton Volleyball hosts SFA, Sam Houston in final home matches of 2021

The Teams: Tarleton Texans (13-12, 3-3 WAC) vs. Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks (16-6, 7-3 WAC); Sam Houston Bearkats (15-7, 8-2 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
Tarleton returns home for its final matches of 2021 in Wisdom Gym. The Texans will play host to Stephen F. Austin on Thursday at 6 p.m. before closing out the home slate Saturday at 1 p.m. against Sam Houston at 1 p.m.

Live stats and video will be available for both matches. Links to both can be found on the volleyball schedule at TarletonSports.com. The match will be stream online at ESPN+.

ABOUT THE MATCHUP

The traditional Thursday-Saturday homestand will be Tarleton's last in the 2021 campaign. The Texans are set to recognize eight seniors prior to Saturday's matinée vs. Sam Houston. Tarleton then concludes the year with a pair of road tilts opposite UTRGV and Lamar on Nov. 11 and Nov. 13.
Tarleton can shake up the WAC Volleyball Tournament picture in a major way with a victory or two this weekend. Sam Houston (15-7, 8-2 WAC) holds a one-game lead over SFA (16-6, 7-3 WAC) in the Southwest Division standings with two weeks remaining in the regular season. The division winner is guaranteed a top-two seed in the eight-team tournament.
SFA and Tarleton will meet for the third time in 2021 and in school history on Thursday. The Ladyjacks swept Tarleton in Nacogdoches on Oct. 2 and earned a victory over the Texans in a season-opening tournament in January during the spring 2021 season.
Despite the proximity between the two schools, the Texans' match vs. the Bearkats on Sept. 30 in Huntsville was their first meeting on the volleyball court. Sam Houston claimed a four-set win in scores of 25-17, 25-12, 24-26 and 25-21. The contest served as both teams' conference-opener.

SENIOR RECOGNITION
Tarleton will recognize eight seniors prior to Saturday's match against Sam Houston. In a pregame ceremony, Tarleton will honor Amari Franklin, Hali'a Swartman-Hogan, Lorin McNeil, Carmen Kinsey, Kayla Brannon and Lauren Kersey. Seniors Amber Strange and Natalya Chatham will also be recognized, but were honored during their senior ceremony last spring.

HOME MATCH FESTIVITIES
Tarleton will pass out 300 free 'Axe the Jacks' T-Shirts ahead of Thursday night's match, which is also a 500-point Max Point event in the National Farm Life Fan Rewards program. Saturday will be Fan Appreciation Day at the volleyball match. Tickets will be on sale for $1 and Tarleton will give away free ice cream, autographed posters, and a $500 cash prize to one lucky fan.

QUICK HITS

Timing is perhaps optimal for Tarleton to rectify its earlier losses to SFA and Sam Houston. The Texans enter the weekend playing their best volleyball of the fall. Tarleton has won four of its last five matchups and five-of-seven overall. Each of Tarleton's three most recent victories has come in straight sets. Tarleton earned match season sweeps of Incarnate Word and Abilene Christian on Oct. 26 and Oct. 30.
The Texans need to win two of their final four games to finish with a winning record. Should they do so, it will mark the program's 13th consecutive winning season under head coach Mary Schindler and 14th overall. Tarleton volleyball would also become the first team in school history to post back-to-back winning seasons at NCAA Division I
Tarleton possesses one of the most efficient offenses in the WAC. The Texans enter the weekend ranked third in hitting percentage (.230) and are one of just five teams in both divisions with more than 1,000 kills (1,128). Tarleton is also fourth among its conference peers in total assists (1,006) and its 387 errors are the third-fewest among teams who have played at least 20 matches.
Lauren Kersey added another installment to an ever-growing list of individual accolades on Monday, as the senior was chosen as the Ticketsmarter WAC Offensive Player of the Week for Oct. 25-31. She combined to average 3.56 kills per set (31 total) behind a .420 hitting percentage to lead Tarleton to a 2-1 record on the week. Kersey is among the top outside hitters in the conference and the nation. The Norman, Oklahoma native ranks third in the WAC in kills (319), fourth in hitting percentage (.324) and seventh in kills per set (3.49). She is No. 41 nationally in total kills and leads all reclassifying players in the category.
One of the country's top middle blocker dons Purple and White. Following a seven-block effort vs. Abilene Christian on Oct. 30, senior Lorin McNeil now ranks 14th nationwide in total blocks (112). McNeil also leads the WAC in total blocks, blocks per set (1.23) and block assists (95).

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.	Lauren Kersey	2018-21	1254
8.	Kathy Buckler	1983-86	1194
9.	Amber Strange	2017-21	1183
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	2763
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): Lauren Kersey is proving to be one of the best in the nation for total kills. The Tarleton senior ranked No. 70 in NCAA Division I players in the country with 287 kills.
BEST BLOCKER IN THE BIZ: Lorin McNeil is one of the best in the nation for total blocks. The Tarleton senior is No. 15 in the nation with 112 total blocks.
30-POINT MARATHON: Tarleton played just its seventh 30-point set since NCAA rally scoring dropped the total needed down to 25 points prior to the 2008 season. The rally scoring era prior to 2008 used a 'first to 30' rule and then lowered it to 'first to 25'. Since 2008, Tarleton has been a part of seven sets where the Texans have needed to score 30 points. The most recent came Saturday against Dixie State, where the Texans defeated the Trailblazers 36-34 in the program's longest-played set in the 25-point, rally era 36-34. It was Tarleton's first 30-point set since Sept. 11, 2015 against UC-Colorado Springs (34-32).
DIVISION'S BEST COACHES: The Southwest Division of the WAC features some of the most storied coaches in the Western Athletic Conference. This weekend's trip for Tarleton pits head coach Mary Schindler's 343 career wins against SHSU's Brenda Gray (745) and SFA's Debbie Humphreys (767). Humphreys and Gray lead the division in career wins while Schindler is No. 4.
BRANNON DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Kayla Brannon has recorded a double-double in assists and digs in three of Tarleton's last four matches, including both victories last week. She has 11 double-doubles this season.