The Teams: Tarleton Texans (14-13, 5-5 WAC) vs. UTRGV Vaqueros (15-9, 6-4 WAC); Lamar Cardinals (4-20, 0-10 WAC)
Where: Edinburg, TX; Beaumont, TX
Facility: UTRGV Fieldhouse; McDonald Gym
Time: 7 p.m. CT (Thu); 11 a.m. CT (Sat)
Streaming Platform: ESPN+
 
TEXAN VOLLEYBALL MATCH DAY
Tarleton will play its final volleyball matches of 2021 on the road in south Texas with a Thursday match at UT Rio Grande Volleyball and a Saturday affair at Lamar. The Texans will play a prime-time battle for a chance at third place in the Southwest Division Thursday night at 6 p.m. looking to exact revenge against the Vaqueros. Then Tarleton will venture to Beaumont for an 11 a.m. season finale against the Cardinals of Lamar.
 
Live stats and video will be available for both matches. Links to both can be found on the volleyball schedule at TarletonSports.com. The UTRGV match will be streamed online at ESPN+ while the Lamar match can be found on the WAC Digital Network.
 
ABOUT THE MATCHUP

• Tarleton will close out the regular season on the road with its final two WAC matches of the season. The Texans visit UTRGV with a chance to continue wreaking havoc on the Southwest Division standings before closing out the season in Beaumont against Lamar on Saturday.
• The Texans and UTRGV will meet for the seventh time in program history and second time this season. The Texans and Vaqueros played in the spring regular season finale last season and the Texans won both matchups. Tarleton is 5-1 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. The Vaqueros took the season's first meeting in four sets in Stephenville.
• Tarleton and Lamar will meet on the volleyball court for just the second time in their history. The Texans won the first meeting between the two schools 3-1 in Stephenville on Oct. 7. In the first meeting, Tarleton's Lauren Kersey (13) and Lorin McNeil (10) led the way offensively with 23 total kills.

 
QUICK HITS

• The Texans need to win one of their final two 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 (.229) and are one of just four teams in both divisions with more than 1,200 kills (1,244). Tarleton is also fourth among its conference peers in total assists (1,113) and its 436 errors are the fewest among teams who have played at least 25 matches.
• Lauren Kersey ranks third in the WAC in kills (363), second in hitting percentage (.338) and seventh in kills per set (3.59). She is No. 45 nationally in total kills.
• One of the country's top middle blocker dons Purple and White. Lorin McNeil now ranks fourth nationwide in total blocks (129). McNeil also leads the WAC in total blocks, blocks per set (1.28) and block assists (108).
• This weekend will bring a close to a calendar year for the record books. Tarleton's first two NCAA Division I seasons have all taken place in the calendar year of 2021, due to the postponement of the 2020 season to the spring semester. In this year alone, Tarleton has boasted a combined record of 27-24 and played 20 home matches over the last two semesters. Tarleton will say farewell to six seniors and two super seniors, who opted back in for the fall after a free season of eligibility from the NCAA.

 
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, TWO 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 and Incarnate Word in 2023 to grow by eight members over a four-year span. Incarnate Word recently accepted an invitation to join the league.
• 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.
• NEW COMMISH IN TOWN: The Western Athletic Conference Board of Directors has announced Brian Thornton as the seventh commissioner in the 60-year history of the conference. Thornton replaces Jeff Hurd, who will be ending a 10-year run as commissioner and 37 years overall at the conference on December 31, 2021.

 
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.	Lauren Kersey	2018-21	1298
6.	Missy Castro	2004-08	1276
7.	Belinda Hardee	1990-93	1261
8.	Amber Strange	2017-21	1203
9.	Kathy Buckler	1983-86	1194
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	2819
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. 45 in NCAA Division I players in the country with 363 kills.
• BEST BLOCKER IN THE BIZ: Lorin McNeil is one of the best in the nation for total blocks. The Tarleton senior is No. 4 in the nation with 129 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).
• BRANNON DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Kayla Brannon has recorded a double-double in assists and digs in four of Tarleton's last six matches, including both victories last week. Each of Tarleton's last four wins have come when Brannon records an assist-digs double-double. She has 12 double-doubles this season.
• ONE LAST RIDE: This weekend marks the final matches in the careers of eight Texans, including 'super seniors' Amber Strange and Natalya Chatham. The other six seniors playing in their final match are Amari Franklin, Hali'a Hogan, Lorin McNeil, Carmen Kinsey, Kayla Brannon and Lauren Kersey.
• CHALLENGE ACCEPTED: Tarleton won arguably its biggest match of the season in a five-set victory against Stephen F. Austin on Nov. 4 in Stephenville. The Texans rallied back from a set-one defeat and head coach Mary Schindler went 3-for-3 on challenge opportunities in the decisive fifth set as the Texans secured the win.