The Teams: Tarleton Texans (12-15, 4-8 WAC) at NM State (13-11, 5-7 WAC); at UTRGV (22-5, 11-1 WAC)
Where: Las Cruces, New Mexico; Edinburg, Texas
Venue: Pan American Center; UTRGV Fieldhouse
Time: Thursday, 7:00 p.m. CT; Saturday, 2 p.m. CT
Streaming Platform: WACInternational; ESPN+

TEXAN VOLLEYBALL MATCH DAY
 
Tarleton volleyball is returning to action tonight as they look to finish strong ahead of their last two regular season matches of the season.
 
The Texans will play at NM State tonight before heading to Edinburg to take on league leading UTRGV Saturday.
 
Tonight's match will be streamed on WACInternational.tv which can be accessed by creating a free account on the website. Saturday's match with UTRGV will be on ESPN+.
 
MATCHUP NOTES
• Tarleton hits the road for its final two matches of the regular season, taking on NM State in Las Cruces before heading south to Edinburg to face first place UTRGV.
• Tarleton is 0-2 all-time vs. the Aggies. Both matches came in the 2021 spring season on back-to-back days (March 15-16) at the Pan Am Center. The Aggies took the first match 3-1 before sweeping the Texans the following day.
• The Vaqueros are a familiar opponent for Tarleton as the teams have squared off five times as members of the WAC. UTRGV holds the 3-2 advantage all-time and have won three straight in  the series. Earlier this season on Sept. 24, UTRGV tripped to Stephenville and defeated the Texans 3-1. Sarah Cruz landed 19 kills for the Vaqueros while Megan Haynes had 16 kills followed by freshman Joselyn Roberson with 12. Freshman Megan Hodges tallied a career-high 43 assists in the match.
• UTRGV is sitting in first place in the WAC with an 11-1 conference record. NM State is in seventh with a 5-7 record followed by the Texans in 11th with a 4-8 WAC record.
 
QUICK HITS
 
• The Texans played just one match last week, a crazy back and forth loss in five sets to Sam Houston in Huntsville. Tarleton got out to a 2-0 lead and looked to be full throttle ahead, but the Bearkats rallied and were able to win the next three sets and take the match 3-2.
• Against the Bearkats, Grayson Schirpik led Tarleton in kills as well as finishing with her fourth double-double of the season, landing 17 kills and a season-high 20 digs. Schirpik is tied with Megan Haynes for the team lead in kills with 252.
• Freshman Ailie Hair added 14 kills of her own vs. the Kats on .346 hitting as well as tallying four blocks. It was the middle blocker's eighth match with double-digit kills this season.
• Megan Haynes had 16 kills vs. the Kats. She has finished with double-digit kills in nine of ten WAC matches and is tied for the team lead with 252 kills alongside Grayson Schirpik.
• Freshman Megan Hodges added her fourth double-double of the season in the loss to Sam Houston, recording 27 assists and 14 digs.
• As a team, the Texans rank fourth in service aces per set (1.50), seventh in hitting (.206), seventh in kills per set (12.44), seventh in assists per set (11.60), eighth in blocks per set (2.02)
• Ailie Hair continues to lead the WAC in hitting percentage, with a clip of .370. She also ranks eighth with .34 aces per set and 10th with 0.98 blocks per set. Other Texans on the conference leaderboards include Megan Hodges in eighth with 6.74 assists per set and Ana Costas in eighth with 3.90 digs per set.
•  If reclassifying institutions players were counted on the NCAA statistic leaderboards, Ailie Hair would rank 46th in the nation with her .370 hitting.
 
NOTABLES
 
New Texans on the Block
 
All six freshmen for Tarleton have seen the court this season, with most of them playing a big part in the Texans' early season success. At times the Texans have had five true freshmen on the court at one time.
 
Ailie Hair sits first in the WAC with a .370 hitting percentage. Hair leads the Texans in blocks (98) and hitting percentage (.370). She has garnered two WAC Freshman of the Week honors and has eight matches with double-digit kills as a middle blocker.
Emma Burke is second on the team behind Hair with 63.0 blocks this season. She has appeared in 26 of 27 matches as a middle blocker and landed a career-high 11 kills vs. SFA in Wisdom Gym on Sept. 29. One of Burke's more impressive matches came vs. CBU when she totaled a career-high tying seven blocks to go with four kills on .500 hitting.
Megan Hodges has been Tarleton's primary setter for the whole season. She leads the team with 674 assists and ranks eighth in the WAC with 6.74 assists per set. She also has added 189 digs on the year which is good for second on the team. In 12 conference matches, Hodges has never finished with less than 20 assists.
Breanna McDonough has factored heavily into the rotation, seeing time in all 27 matches as a right side. She ranks third on the team with 221 kills and has seven matches of double-digit kills. She won WAC Freshman of the Week on Oct. 10 after posting a career-high 14 kills on .357 hitting vs. Southern Utah.
Joselyn Roberson has seen more playing time as the season has progressed. The outside hitter now has two matches with double digit kills. Overall, she has landed 10 kills vs. FAU, nine at SFA and a career-high 12 vs. UTRGV.
 
WAC Awards
Freshman middle blocker Ailie Hair took home WAC Freshman of the Week honors in both week one and week two of the season. She currently holds a WAC leading .382 hitting percentage and has a team-high 80 blocks.
Freshman right side Breanna McDonough was named the WAC Freshman of the Week on Oct. 10 after she posted a career-high 14 kills in a win over Southern Utah the week prior.
 
Returning Digs Leader
Ana Costas (DS) led the Texans a season ago with 371 digs and 4.47 digs per set.  The 4.47 digs per set was good for fourth in the WAC. She plays a critical part for the team and as Coach Schindler noted, "is a fierce competitor." This season she once again leads Tarleton with 374 digs and has posted 15+ digs in 14 matches.
 
Three Hundred Fifty
Tarleton head coach Mary Schindler reached another milestone on Friday, Sept. 2, when Tarleton swept Tennessee State. The win gave Schindler 350 career wins, all while coaching at Tarleton.
 
Conference Tourney Time
The WAC approved reclassifying institutions to participate in all conference championships as early as this fall. This approval grants rights only for sports to compete in postseason conference play, not national postseason. The top 8 teams in the WAC move on to the conference tournament and this season Tarleton will be able to compete.
 
WAC Preseason Poll
Tarleton was picked to finish tied ninth out of 12 in the Western Athletic Conference. With 50 points, the Texans were picked behind league newcomer UT Arlington (54) and tied with Utah Tech (50). NM State was picked to win the league and Tarleton will travel to Las Cruces on Nov. 10.
 
New WAC Scheduling
This season the WAC has scrapped divisions completely after having a West and Southwest Division in 2021. The 13 teams from across the conference will play each other in preparation for the WAC Volleyball Tournament that will be held at the UTRGV Fieldhouse in Edinburg. The top 8 teams play in the conference tournament.
 
Conference Standings
 

 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Following the two matches this week, Tarleton will await its future and see whether they qualify for the Western Athletic Conference Tournament in Edinburg Nov. 17-19.