STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Texan Volleyball dropped their Homecoming match on Saturday against the Vaqueros. 
 
The Texans started off strong and claimed the first set, 25-23. UTRGV took the next set 25-16 and saw the final two sets end, 25-21. Tarleton State is now 11-12 overall and 2-7 in WAC play after falling to the Vaqueros. UTRGV tallied 54 digs, 52 kills, 47 assists, 14 blocks, and 10 aces. UT Arlington is 14-9 overall and 8-2 in conference. 
 
In the match against the Vaqueros, the Texans compiled 51 kills, 45 digs, 44 assists, six blocks and four aces. Rajini Fitzmaurice led the team with 11 kills. Emma Burke contributed 10 kills of her own and Breanna McDonough tallied nine. 
 
Burke led the Texan defense with four blocks. Madison Frank and McDonough each claimed two blocks as well. Hodges also led the team in assists (34) and digs (13). Matti Theurer earned 12 digs for the match and Fitzmaurice tallied eight of her own.
 
A pair of kills from the Vaqueros put the visitors on the board first in the opening frame. A four-score run claimed the lead for Tarleton State, but the Vaqueros answered with two more to tie the set. Both teams went back and forth for the next two points but kills from Fitzmaurice and McDonough put UTRGV down by two. Three consecutive points from the visiting team closed in on Tarleton State but Allison Bryant sealed the set with a kill for a 25-23 final.
 
In set two, UTRGV came out strong taking a 5-0 lead. The Vaqueros led the entire second stanza. The Texans saw the closest score of the frame at 10-14 after a kill from Fitzmaurice and an error from the visitors. Tarleton saw kills from Melina Maldonado Ortiz, and Fitzmaurice and an ace from Schirpik for the home team's final points.  A pair of errors from Tarleton State tallied the last two points for UTRGV to close the set at 25-16.
 
Set three began with a kill from the Vaqueros but the next three points were claimed by the Purple and White. The Texans led the frame until a kill from Luisa Silva Dos Santos tied the set at point eight. A four-score run saw the home team up by four. A strong Vaquero offense took the next five points for a two-point lead at 18-16. From there, UTRGV led the remainder of the stanza. Burke laid down a pair of kills, followed by a kill from McDonough to see the 20th point for the Texans. An error from the visiting team added the last point for the Purple and White but a kill from Perris Key saw the set point for a 25-21 final. 
 
In a very competitive fourth set, both teams took turns leading the stanza. Set four saw four lead changes and eight ties. The final tie of the frame came at the 19^th point after a kill from Frank. Three consecutive points from the visitors saw UTRGV up, 22-19. A service error from the Vaqueros and a kill from Schirpik saw the Texans at 21-22. The visitors saw a three-score run to close out the set at 25-21. 
 
The Texans will continue their time at home with a match against Abilene Christian on Monday at 6 p.m. The match between the Wildcats and Tarleton State can be found on ESPN+.