The Teams: Tarleton Texans (7-1, 0-0 WAC) at Jacksonville University (2-4, 0-0 A-SUN); Florida Atlantic (5-1, 0-0 C-USA); Idaho (0-6, 0-0 Big Sky)
Where: Jacksonville, FL
Stadium: Swisher Gymnasium
Time: Friday: 9 a.m. CT vs. Jacksonville University, 3 p.m. CT vs. Florida Atlantic.
Saturday: 10 a.m. CT vs. Idaho
Streaming Platform: YouTube for match vs. Jacksonville University
 
TEXAN VOLLEYBALL MATCH DAY
Tarleton heads to Florida to play in its first away tournament of the season following a victory over UIW on Tuesday evening.
 
They kick the tournament off against the host, Jacksonville University, at 9 a.m. CT in Swisher Gymnasium on Friday. The match will be streamed on YouTube and is the only Tarleton match of the weekend that will be streamed.
 
Updates can be found on Tarleton volleyball Twitter and Instagram accounts. Live stats links and video links can be found on the Tarleton volleyball schedule on TarletonSports.com.
 
 MATCHUP NOTES
 
•  Tarleton volleyball hits the road to Jacksonville, Florida, this weekend for the Dolphin Classic hosted by Jacksonville University at Swisher Gymnasium.
•  The field is made up of Jacksonville University, Florida Atlantic and Idaho. The Texans have never met any of the three teams playing in the tournament.
• This is Tarleton's second consecutive season playing a tournament in Florida after going 1-1 last season in the FIU Invitational with a win over the host Panthers and a loss to Miami (FL).
• The Texans are on the road from Sept. 9 until Saturday, Sept. 24, when they return   home to take on UTRGV for their WAC home opener. They play in Greeley, Colorado, in the Northern Colorado Classic next weekend before taking on SFA in Nacogdoches for the WAC opener on Thursday, Sept. 22.
 
QUICK HITS
 
•  Tarleton defeated UIW at home on Tuesday three sets to one. It was their fourth straight win and continued the streak of the Texans not playing in a five-set match this season.
•  The Texans are off to their best start through eight games (7-1) since the 2016 season when they also started 7-1.
•  Grayson Schirpik finished with a double-double of 14 kills and 11 digs in the win over UIW Tuesday. It was her second double-double of the season. The other came in the season opening win over FDU when she posted 16 kills and 15 digs. The transfer from UH leads the Texans with 86 kills on the season as well as 16 service aces.
•  Freshman Megan Hodges posted her fifth 20 plus assist match of the season in the win over UIW. She finished the match with 21 assists, two service aces and a kill.
•  The freshman duo of Ailie Hair and Breanna McDonough finished the win over UIW with eight and six blocks respectively to lead the Texans. Both of those figures were season-highs. Hair continued her hold over the team lead with 30 blocks. McDonough has had five or more kills in every match, including two matches of 10 plus. She is hitting .340 on the season.
• Six different Texans, Grayson Schirpik, Ailie Hair, Breanna McDonough, Megan Hodges, Ana Costas and Melina Maldonado have appeared in all 28 sets on the season.
 
 
NOTABLES
 
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 .492 hitting percentage and has a team-high 30 blocks.
 
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.
 
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.
 
 
UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
Tarleton will play in Greeley, Colorado, from Sept. 15-17 in the Northern Colorado Classic. The field is made up of the host Northern Colorado, Santa Clara and Cal Poly. The Texans kick off the tournament on Thursday Sept. 15, vs. the host Northern Colorado on ESPN+.