STEPHENVILLE, Texas – The Purple and White fall in five against the Trailblazers. 
 
In the battle against Utah Tech, the Texans compiled 69 digs, 43 kills, 39 assists, eight blocks, and 11 aces. Tarleton State has an overall record of 11-8 and are now 2-3 in conference play after a hard-fought match against the Trailblazers. Utah Tech tallied 64 digs, 49 kills, 39 assists, fourteen blocks, and three aces. The Trailblazers are 6-9 overall and are 2-3 in conference play. 
 
Allison Bryant led the team with 10 kills on the match. Rajini Fitzmaurice and Breanna McDonough tied in second for most kills with eight each for the night. Melina Maldonado Ortiz saw a new season high in aces with three on the match. Isabel Gonzaba also saw a new season high in aces with two on the evening. Fitzmaurice contributed two aces for the Texans. 
 
Emma Burke led Tarleton State's defense with six blocks on the night. McDonough added three blocks of her own and Fitzmaurice saw two for the Purple and White. Megan Hodges continued to lead the team in assists with 22 for the evening. Maldonado Ortiz contributed 11 assists and Matti Theurer tallied four. Theurer led the Texans with 24 digs on the match. Maldonado Ortiz saw another season high tonight in digs with 11 and Hodges racked up 11 digs as well. 
 
The first set began with a four-score run from Tarleton State. Utah Tech's defense claimed the first point for the Trailblazers with a block from Kennedi Knudsen and Elise Porter. A three-score run from Utah Tech saw the closest score of the set after an error from the Texans saw a 5-4 score with the Purple and White ahead by one. From there, two errors from the Trailblazers gave the Texans the upper hand and Tarleton State remained in the lead for the duration of the frame. With kills from McDonough and Bryant and several errors from Utah Tech, the Purple and White saw five consecutive points for a 12-5 lead. A service ace from Bryant tallied point 14 for the Texans and the Trailblazer's Elise Porter replied with a kill to see the seventh point for Utah Tech. An error from the Trailblazers and kills from Maldonado Ortiz and Grayson Schirpik saw the next three points for Tarleton State. Back-to-back kills from Fitzmaurice and some defensive work from McDonough and Burke put the Purple and White up 22-10. The final point of the set for Utah Tech came from a kill by Knudsen. McDonough closed out the stanza for the Texans with a kill to see a 25-11 final in the first set. 
 
Set two began with another kill from Fitzmaurice. Tarleton State saw three on the board before two errors from the Purple and White added a couple of points for the Trailblazers. Bryant claimed the fourth point for the Texans with a kill and an error from Utah Tech saw Tarleton State up by three. The red and blue saw an error from the Purple and White for their fourth point and a kill from Taela Laufiso for their fifth. The Texans caught a surge of energy and saw five consecutive points for a 10-4 score. Taylor Snow laid down a kill for Utah Tech followed by a block from Laufiso and Snow to claim point six for the Trailblazers. A kill from Bryant and a kill from Snow saw a 11-7 score with Tarleton State still in the lead. After an error from Utah Tech for the Texan's 12th point, the Trailblazers caught some wind and saw a four-score run to close the gap to a two-point deficit. Burke tallied point 13 with a kill but an error from the Purple and White and some defensive work from Utah Tech tied the match at point 13. The teams battled back and forth for the lead until an error from Tarleton State put the Trailblazers ahead. Utah Tech capitalized on the error and added a service ace followed by a block from Snow and Laufiso to see the Texans down for the first time in the match with a 19-16 score. Utah Tech held the lead for the duration of the frame. The final points for the Purple and White consisted of a kill from Schirpik and a couple of errors from the red and blue. Utah Tech saw back-to-back kills from Knudsen to seal the deal on the second set with a 25-20 final.
 
In set three, Tarleton State was first on the board with kills from Bryant and Burke as well as some defensive action from the pair to see the Texans up 3-0. Porter saw point one for Utah Tech. A couple of errors from the red and blue and an ace from Gonzaba saw the Purple and White up 6-1. After a kill from Hannah Howard, Tarleton State saw three consecutive points with a kill from Schirpik, an ace from Fitzmaurice and an attack error from the Trailblazers to tally the 11th point for the Purple and White. Porter put up the eighth point for Utah Tech but a kill from Bryant followed by a service ace from Gonzaba and an error from the Trailblazers saw the Texans up 16-8. Utah Tech saw three consecutive kills from Snow and Knudsen in an effort to close the gap, but the Purple and White responded with three more for an eight-point lead. The final points of the stanza for the Trailblazers came from an error by the Texans and kills from Snow and Knudsen. A strong Texan defensive closed the set with a block from Frank and Bryant to see the frame end 25-14. 
 
The fourth set began with a kill from Laufiso. McDonough claimed the first point for Tarleton State to even the score. A kill from Knudsen and a block by Snow and Sydney Reese saw the red and blue up by two. An error from the Trailblazers and another service ace from Burke tied the set. The battle for the lead continued until point seven when a kill from Schirpik saw the Purple and White first to point eight. A block from Schirpik and Burke followed by an ace from Theurer put Tarleton State up by three. Utah Tech quickly responded after capitalizing on an error from the Texans and added two kills to tie the set at 10. As the Purple and White added point 11, the Trailblazers did the same. Three consecutive points saw the home team in the lead, but a five-score run from Utah Tech saw the Texans down, 16-14. An error from the Trailblazers added a point for Tarleton State but the red and blue saw five consecutive points, making the score 21-15. A kill from Fitzmaurice and an ace from Maldonado Ortiz added two for the Purple and White. Point 22 for Utah Tech came from a kill by Snow, but the Texans went on a four-score run to close the gap to a one-point deficit. A kill from Laufiso and a strong Trailblazer defense tallied the final points for Utah Tech. Maldonado Ortiz put up point 22 for the Purple and White, but the Trailblazers took the stanza with a 25-22 final, forcing a fifth set. 
 
Snow claimed the first point of the final set for Utah Tech with a kill. Burke laid down a kill of her own and an error from the Trailblazers saw the Texans in the lead by one. A solid defense from Utah Tech and two kills from the Trailblazers put six consecutive points on the board for the red and blue. Rylie Morrison laid down a kill for the third point for Tarleton State. The final points for the Purple and White came from errors made by Utah Tech. A kill from Reese, an ace from Laufiso and several errors from the Texans left the fifth set with a 15-5 final giving the Trailblazers their second win in conference play. 
 
Texan Volleyball will be back in action at home on Oct. 7 to take on Southern Utah at 1 p.m before hitting the road again. The match-up against Southern Utah can be found on ESPN+.