STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton Volleyball got revenge of Utah Valley and took down the Wolverines in four sets to split the weekend series at the Wisdom Volleyball Gym.
 
The Texans improve to 5-7 overall and 3-5 in the WAC while winning four of its last five matches. The Texans won the sets 25-16, 25-18, 22-25, 25-15 and hit .239 for the match while Utah Valley (4-3, 4-2) was held to a .114 hitting percentage.
 
Three Texans posted double-digit kills in the match, led by Lauren Kersey's 16 kills and a season-high .615 hitting percentage. Amber Strange tallied 15 kills and nine digs while Amari Franklin recorded a career-high 10 kills.
 
In the opening set, the Texans used an 8-1 run to pull away from the Wolverines early with a 14-8 advantage. Kersey powered down a pair of kills and Ana Costas added a service ace to extend the lead to 17-9. Utah Valley never got to within less than seven points in the opening frame as Strange put the Texans at set point and closed out the set with a Wolverine attack error.
 
The Texans carried the momentum over as they led from start to finish in the second set. Strange and Kersey's kills started a 4-0 run for the Texans to extend the lead to 12-7. Leading 12-10, Kersey had another kill to start a 4-0 stretch that featured a pair of blocks by Lorin McNeil and blocks from Franklin and Kersey to lead 16-10. McNeil led all players with eight blocks in the match, a new career high for the junior from Rockwall. Utah Valley got to within three at 21-18, but the Texans finished strong defensively with four straight points off Wolverine attack errors to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Needing a win to stay alive, Utah Valley went back and forth with the Texans throughout the set. A 3-0 Tarleton run tied the set at 18 and the two squads exchanged points for the next eight serves to the tune of a 22-all tie. The Wolverines took the next three points to force a fourth set.
 
The fourth set was like the first two for the Texans, leading from start to finish. Kayla Brannon, who had a match-leading 40 assists on the day, delivered with one of three kills to start another 4-0 Tarleton run to go up 13-7. Brianna Rhodes and Strange had kills during the run and McNeil had a service ace. McNeil and Franklin had another block to extend the Texans lead to double digits at 20-10, with Franklin totaling four blocks in the match. The two leading scorers in the game, Kersey and Strange, were there to close out the match as each had a kill and Kersey's right-side attack put an end to the match with a 25-15 set win.
 
In addition to 16 blocks, the Texans had 62 digs led by Ana Costas' 16 and Emma Halcomb added 14.
 
Tarleton will play a pair of non-conference matchups next week, starting with a trip to Prairie View A&M on Wednesday, Feb. 24. The Texans will host TCU on Feb. 25 at 6 p.m. in the Wisdom Volleyball Gym.