OREM, Utah – Tarleton State goes to five with the Vaqueros Thursday to close out their time in the WAC Tournament.
 
The Vaqueros claimed the first two sets at 26-24 and 25-18. A rally from the Texans stole the next two sets, 25-21 and 25-19. The final set was taken by UTRGV, 15-13. 
 
Tarleton State finished 16-15 overall and 7-9 in conference after putting down the Wildcats. UTRGV is now 19-11 overall and completed conference play with a 12-4 record. 
 
Rajini Fitzmaurice led the team in kills with 15. Allison Bryant added 12 and Breanna McDonough contributed 10. Megan Hodges amassed 33 assists for the Texans and Melina Maldonado Ortiz compiled 15 assists. Emma Burke added three aces and Matti Theurer tallied two.
 
Theurer led the team in digs (15) and Kenzie Kellerman followed closely with 14. Hodges added 10 digs for Tarleton State as well. Madison Frank amassed seven blocks to lead the team. Burke contributed five blocks and Grayson Schirpik tallied three. 
 
In the opening frame, the Vaqueros took the first set, but the Texans maintained the same energy. Set one saw eight ties and four lead changes. With two 4-0 runs from each side, the 24^th point saw the final tie, but two back-to-back kills closed out the set in favor of UTRGV at 26-24.
 
The second set was neck-and-neck until point 12 but a five-score run put the Vaqueros up. A 5-0 run saw a 24-17 score. An error from UTRGV added the final point for the Texans but the set closed with a kill from the Vaqueros at 25-18.
 
In the third frame, the Purple and White came out hot taking the first three points unanswered. From there, Tarleton State led the remainder of the set. After a tie at the 16^th point, the Texans went on a 4-0 run to see a 20-16 score. With the Vaqueros down by one at 23-21, Tarleton State came alive to close out the set at 25-21, to keep the match going.
 
Set four began the same as the third stanza with the Purple and White claiming the first three consecutively. Frank laid down a kill to start a four-score run for the Texans to see a five-point lead. As the Vaqueros tallied their eighth point, Tarleton State claimed the next three to land the Purple and White an eight-point lead. The Texans remained in the lead while a kill from Bryant sealed the deal at 25-19.
 
The fifth set was a battle from start to finish. With eight ties and seven lead changes, the tie at point nine was broke during a 4-0 run from Tarleton State to see UTRGV down by two at 11-9. Fitzmaurice laid down a kill for the 13^th point for the Texans but the next four went to the Vaqueros to close out the set, 15-13, and the match, 3-2 for UTRGV. The match against the Vaqueros closed out postseason play for Tarleton State. 
 
The Purple and White made history in the 2023 season after qualifying for the WAC Tournament for the first time in history since becoming a Division l program.