THE TEAMS:
WHERE: Arlington, Texas
ARENA: College Park Center (6,750)
TIME: 12 p.m. CT
STREAMING PLATFORM: ESPN+
TEXAN VOLLEYBALL MATCH WEEK: The Purple and White will head to Arlington for their fourth conference match. This will be the first and only road game for Tarleton before their two-match home stand next week. The Texans are coming off their first home loss, where they fell to Seattle U Thursday night, 1-3. Tarleton was previously 4-0 at home.
QUICK HITS:
• Tarleton is looking for their first win in Arlington. They sit 1-3 all-time against the Mavericks.
• Allison Bryant ranks sixth in the WAC in kills per set (3.54). She is second in the conference with 221 and 25th in the nation for total kills.
• Megan Hodges tallied her 400th assist of the season Thursday against Seattle U.
• Emma Halcomb leads the WAC in total digs (263) and digs per set (4.17). Halcomb ranks 35th in the nation in total digs. She is the only player in the conference with over 200 digs and over 4 Digs/S. Halcomb holds the top two dig totals in a single match for the WAC this season.
• Tarleton just notched their 1000th dig of the season against Seattle U. They are the only team in the WAC so far with 1000 digs or more.
• Allison Bryant was named WAC Player of the Week last week. Bryant was named TSU invitational's MVP as well. She broke the Texans' D1 era kills record with 27 against McNeese on Sept. 17. Bryant also broke her career-high in digs with 23 against Oral Roberts on Sept. 19.
• Emma Halcomb was named WAC Libero of the Week last week. She tied her career-high of 25 digs against McNeese on Sept. 17, then proceeded to burst that number once again with a 26-dig outing against ULM on Sept. 21.
• Allison Bryant, Emma Halcomb, and Megan Hodges were all selected to the Tarleton State Invitational's All-Tournament team.
• Tatum Busch broke her career high in aces with four against Seattle U. She also broke her career high with 12 digs during that same match.
• Tehana Mo'o recorded her first double-digit kill total of the season against the Redhawks on Thursday, tallying 11 kills.
• Emma Burke has led the team in blocks in 10 out of the last 11 matches.
• Megan Hodges holds the Texans new D1 era single match record with 48 assists. She has reached that number twice this season. Hodges is currently seventh in the WAC in assists per set (6.46).
• Yuna Ansquer is seventh in the WAC in aces per set (0.34). She leads the Texans in aces with 18, followed by Busch with 15.
• Ansquer and Hodges have combined for 20+ assists each in four matches this season.
• The Texans are coming into the 2024 season after notching the most wins in a single season since becoming a Division l program last year.
• The Purple and White will face 2023 NCAA Tournament team Grand Canyon twice this season.
• The head coach for the Texans, Mary Schindler, is in her 20th season as the leading lady for Tarleton State Volleyball. The Texan coaching staff consists of assistant, Hannah McManus-Smith (5th season), assistant, Damien Hardy (1st season), and graduate assistant and former player, Matti Theurer (1st season).
SERIES HISTORY:
• Tarleton trails the all-time series against UTA 1-3.
• The Texans fell to the Mavericks 2-3 during their last match on Oct. 14, 2023.
• The Texans are still searching for their first win at the College Park Center.
• During Tarleton's last match against UTA, Emma Burke set her career-high in blocks with nine.
• Allison Bryant also tallied 14 kills last time out against the Mavericks.
• Megan Hodges had 24 assists against the Mavericks last year. She currently leads the team in assists this season.
SEATTLE U RECAP:
• The Texans fell to the Redhawks 1-3, losing their third conference match of the season.
• Tatum Busch broke her career high in aces with four and digs with 12.
• Tehana Mo'o broke her career high in kills (11) and attacks (32).
• Mo'o also recorded a season high of five digs vs Seattle U.
• Yuna Ansquer notched her first block of the season.
• Allison Bryant led the team with 12 kills.
• Megan Hodges notched her eighth double-double of the year.
• Hodges had 24 asissts and 10 digs.
• WAC dig-leader Emma Halcomb led the team with 22 digs.
STATS AMONG THE WAC:
• Allison Bryant is second in the WAC in total kills (221) and sixth in kills per set (3.51)
• Emma Halcomb is 1st in the WAC in digs (263) and digs per set (4.17)
• Ansquer is seventh in the WAC in service aces per set (0.34)
• Hodges is seventh in the WAC in assists per set (6.43).
• Tarleton is 1st in the WAC in digs (1030) and digs per set (16.35)
• The Texans are fourth in the WAC in kills per set (12.14)
• The Texans are fifth in the WAC in assists per set (11.35)
• Tarleton holds four of the five top conference totals for most digs in a match as a team.
OPPONENT SCOUTING REPORT:
• UT Arlington is at the top of the WAC standings.
• The Mavericks sit 13-2 overall, 3-0 in WAC play.
• UT Arlington leads the conference in hitting percentage (.267).
• UTA leads the conference in kills per set (13.48).
• They also lead the WAC in assists per set (12.48). They are the only team with 12 or more assists per set.
• Brianna Ford leads the WAC in kills with 239 total and 4.60 per set.
• Paige Reagor and Brianna Ford hold the top two spots on the WAC leaderboard for hitting percentage.
• Mollie Blank leads the conference in assists per set (10.47).
BRYANT, HALCOMB WIN WAC WEEKLY AWARDS:
• Allison Bryant was named WAC Player of the Week last week.
• Bryant broke the Texans single-match kills record since they've been a D1 program. She had a career-high 27 kills against McNeese Sept. 17.
• Bryant also broke her career-high for digs with 23 against Oral Roberts Sept. 19.
• Bryant had three double-doubles in five matcheg during TSU Invitational week.
• Emma Halcomb won WAC Libero of the Week last week.
• Halcomb holds the top two digs totals in a single match in the WAC this season.
• Halcomb currently leads the WAC in digs (241) and digs per set (4.08).
• Halcomb broke her career-high in digs (26) against Louisiana-Monroe.
ANSQUER AND HODGES:
• During their home slate last week, Hodges and Ansquer combined for 20-plus assists each in three of four games.
• Hodges is currently seventh in the WAC in assists per set (6.46).
• Ansquer set a new career-high of 27 assists in the Texan's tournament-clinching match against ULM.
• Hodges has had double-digit assists in every game this season.
• Hodges has set a season-high of 48 twice this year.
• Hodges has a team-high eight double-doubles on the season, Ansquer has three.
Following Saturday's match against UTA, the Texans will return to Stephenville for Tarleton's homecoming week where they will host Abilene Christian on Thursday and Utah Valley on Saturday. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.
