The Teams: Tarleton Texans (6-1, 0-0 WAC) vs. UIW Cardinals (1-2 0-0 SLC)
Where: Stephenville, TX
Stadium: Wisdom Volleyball Gym
Time: 7 p.m.
Streaming Platform: ESPN+
 
TEXAN VOLLEYBALL MATCH DAY
Tarleton plays host to the Incarnate Word Cardinals on Tuesday evening in Wisdom Gym.
 
After sweeping their second consecutive home tournament, the Texans are looking to take a win into their weekend tournament in Jacksonville.
 
The match will be Tarleton's last match in the friendly confines of Wisdom Gym until later this month when they return to host UTRGV on Sept. 24 in the home WAC opener for the Texans.
 
MATCHUP NOTES
 
 • Tarleton hosts UIW on Tuesday, a team they have played twice in the Division 1 era and 14 times overall. The Texans lead the all-time series 8-6 and have won the last two matches, one in San Antonio and one in Stephenville.
• UIW was set to join the WAC prior to this season and be a conference mate of Tarleton, but in late June the Cardinals backed out of the agreement and instead chose to stay in the Southland Conference.
• The Cardinals enter the match with a 1-2 record. They have played only three matches compared to Tarleton's seven. UIW has played two matches vs. Texas State, losing both. Their lone win came in the season opener as they took down Texas Southern.
• Tarleton will depart to Jacksonville for the Dolphin Classic later in the week and play their next seven matches on the road, with two tournaments and the WAC opener at SFA on the docket.
 
QUICK HITS
 
 • Tarleton is coming off another 3-0 weekend in Wisdom Gym. The Texans swept Tennessee State and took down Southeastern Louisiana and Prairie View A&M in four sets. They are now 6-0 at home.
• Head coach Mary Schindler reached 350 career wins when Tarleton swept Tennessee State on Friday.
• Ailie Hair was extremely impressive in the Dr. Pam Littleton Classic. She hit over .700 in two different matches and finished with a season-high 19 kills in the win over Southeastern Louisiana. She picked up her second straight WAC Freshman of the Week honors on Monday. Hair ranks first in the WAC in hitting percentage.
• Grayson Schirpik added to her team-high 72 kills this past week, leading Tarleton in kills in two different matches and having three matches of double-digit kills. She had a team-high 11 in the win over Texas Tech and a team and season-high 16 in the win over Prairie View A&M. Her play was not only impressive at the net though, as she landed three service aces vs. SLU and four vs. PVAMU.
• Freshman Breanna McDonough has stepped into the right side role vacated by Lauren Kersey and played extremely well. The Tampa, FL native is second on the team with 62 kills and a .336 hitting percentage.
• As a team, Tarleton ranks first in the WAC in hitting percentage (.267), first in service aces (47), third in assists (297) and fourth in kills per set (13.46).
 
NOTABLES
 
Repeat Production?
In 2021, Tarleton ranked third in the WAC in digs and hitting percentage (.228). They look to replicate that this season, albeit with a lot of new faces.
 
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.
 
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.
 
 
Impact Transfers
Jaylibeth Garcia-Rosa (MB/RS) comes to Tarleton in 2022 after an extremely impressive stint at Northwestern State. While at NSU she started all 30 matches in the 2021 season and led the team with 99 total blocks and led the Southland Conference with 37 solo blocks. She also led the team with 30 service aces. The 37 solo blocks rank fifth all-time in NSU single season history. Garcia-Rosa looks to immediately contribute on the Texan frontline.
 
Grayson Schirpik (OH) comes to Tarleton in 2022 after spending a season at the University of Houston. She contributed quite a bit in the 2021 season, seeing time in 21 matches. She was used primarily as a serving specialist, recording two service aces in three different matches. The Cougars saw big success in Schirpik's lone season on the squad as they posted 25 wins for just the fourth time in program history and finished second in the AAC for the first time ever. Schirpik's athleticism jumps out at you and she, just like Garcia-Rosa, will play a big part on the Texan front line.
 
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."
 
The Freshmen
With the Texans adding six true freshmen to the roster, some combination of the youngster's figure to contribute immediately.
Megan Hodges (S) comes to Tarleton from Celina HS and as Schindler noted "she's fast, moves the ball well and will contribute in the setter role." She landed on the TGCA Class 4A All-State team in 2019 and 2021.
Breanna McDonough (RS) comes to Tarleton from Berkeley Prep School in Tampa, FL. "She has what it takes to be a good player in this conference" Schindler said. She was a member of the AVCA Phenom List.
Ailie Hair (MB) comes to Tarleton from Liberty Hill HS. Schindler mentioned that Hair "Is a dynamic athlete and has a high contact point." Hair picked up All-District honors in each of her three varsity seasons, including 27-4A first team all-district honors in 2019 as a sophomore and 25-5A first team honors in 2021 as a senior.
Joselyn Roberson (OH) comes to Tarleton from San Marcos HS. She earned first team All-District 26-6A honors in 2021 and had over 1,000 kills in her career.
Emma Burke (MB) comes to Tarleton from Godley HS. According to Schindler she is "fast and a hard worker". Burke is versatile as is evidenced by earning District 11-4A hitter of the year in 2021 and District 11-4A server of the year in 2020.
Isabella Martinez (DS) comes to Tarleton from Hendrickson HS. Some of her feats in HS include District 18-5A Co-Defensive MVP in 2021, named to both the AVCA Phenom list and AVCA all-region team in 2021.
 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Tarleton will leave the state of Texas and head to Jacksonville, FL for the Dolphin Classic hosted by Jacksonville University. Other teams in attendance will be Florida Atlantic and Idaho. The Texans kick off the match vs. the host JU on Friday at 9 a.m. CT and will play again at 3 p.m. CT vs. FAU. The final match of the weekend for the Texans will come Saturday at 10 a.m. CT vs. Idaho.