The Teams: Tarleton State Texans (1-7, 0-0 WAC) at McNeese State Cowgirls (3-5, 0-0 SLC)
Where: Lake Charles, Louisiana
Stadium: Legacy Center (500)
Time: 1 p.m. CT
Streaming Platform: ESPN+
TEXAN VOLLEYBALL MATCH DAY
Tarleton State will face McNeese for the first time in Volleyball Tuesday afternoon in Lake Charles, Louisiana. This will be the Texans final match of their nine-match road trip before heading back to Stephenville for the Tarleton State Invitational. The Texans are looking to continue their momentum from the Lumberjack Classic last weekend, where they finished the tournament 1-1 and notched their first win against the New Mexico Lobos in a dominant 3-1 fashion.
ABOUT THE MATCHUP
This will be the first time that these teams face each other. McNeese just snapped their six-match losing streak with a 3-0 win against Florida A&M, while Tarleton just snapped their six-match losing streak against New Mexico.
QUICK HITS
• The Texans will continue their season in Lake Charles, marking their ninth match on the road before the Tarleton State Invitational this weekend.
• Tarleton is coming off their first win of the season against the New Mexico Lobos during the Lumberjack Classic in Flagstaff, Ariz. where they won 3-1.
• In the opening weekend, Allison Bryant was named to the Lion Invitational All-Tournament Team. The senior tied or led the team in kills in each match, totaling 41 on the weekend.
• Tatum Busch was selected to the All-Tournament team for the Tommie Invitational in St. Paul, MN.
• Megan Hodges set the Texans new D1 era single match record with 48 assists against Arkansas Little Rock. Hodges went on to tie this number September 6th against Northern Illinois.
• Addison Goss set the current WAC season-high for digs in a match with 23 against Texas A&M Commerce 8/30/24.
• Allison Bryant is currently sixth in the league in kills with 102.
• Megan Hodges is currently fifth in the WAC in total assists with 219.
• Emma Halcomb leads the entire WAC in digs per set with 3.63. She ranks second in total digs with 109.
• Last season's Second Team All-WAC selection Emma Burke, was named to 2024 Preseason All-WAC Team.
• Tarleton State entered the 2024 season with nine returners and nine newcomers.
• 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.
• Tarleton will play its first nine matches on the road. The final road match of this streak is at McNeese.
• 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).
NEW TEXANS ON THE BLOCK
• In the 2024 season, Tarleton State Volleyball will welcome eight newcomers to the court.
• LaNeah Lara comes to Tarleton State from Blinn College. The outside hitter from Anthony, New Mexico spent the past two seasons with the Bucaneers.
• Courtney Carter joins the Purple and White after one season at Louisiana Tech. The sophomore, outside hitter/right side is a Tomball, Texas, native.
• Tehana Mo'o is a sophomore from Syracuse, Utah. The outside hitter joins the Texans after one season with Central Wyoming College.
• Sophomore, Yuna Ansquer, comes to Tarleton State from Iowa Western College. Ansquer is a setter from Qumiper, France.
• Stephanie Sarmezan is a sophomore, middle blocker from Sainte Anne, Quebec, Canada. Sarmezan joins us after one season with Iowa Western Community College.
• Kristen Kuehn is a freshman from Brenham, Texas. The Brenham HIgh School graduate is a defensive specialist and libero.
• Madeline O'Goman comes to Tarleton State from New Braunfels, Texas. She is entering her freshman season as a middle blocker and outside hitter.
• Freshman, Mya Cabrera, is a Newcastle High School graduate. The Newcastle, Texas, native, is a middle blocker and right side hitter.
• Tatum Busch is a freshman outside hitter from Deer Park, Texas. She comes to us from Deer Park High School.
BURKE NAMED 2024 PRESEASON ALL-WAC
• Before the start of the 2024 season, Emma Burke was selected to the preseason All-WAC Team.
• Burke was one of nine players selected to the team. She is one of three middle blockers on the preseason All-WAC squad.
• The junior earned the Texans' first WAC preseason honor.
BRYANT NAMED TO LION INVITATIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
• Allison Bryant earned an All-Tournament selection in the first tournament of the season.
• The senior led or tied for the team led in kills in all three matches, totaling 41.
• She hit a whopping .343 in the final match of the weekend notching 14 kills.
• She also registered 15 digs, 2 blocks and an ace across the trio of matches.
BUSCH MAKES ALL-TOURNAMENT AT TOMMIE INVITATIONAL
• Freshman Tatum Busch was selected to the All-Tournament team for the Tommie Invitational September 5-7
• Only player from Tarleton to make the All-Tournament team at the Tommie Invitational.
• Registered her third double-digit kill performance of the season against Valparaiso with 10 kills.
• Busch had a career-high 13 kills on 46 total attacks vs Northern Illinois.
GOSS TIES WAC SINGLE-MATCH DIG RECORD
• Addison Goss is currently tied for the most digs in a single match this season with 23 against Texas A&M Commerce (08/31/2024).
• She is tied Mya Laufiso from Utah Tech, however, Laufiso achieved that number in five sets while Goss did it in four.
• Goss is also second in that category, coming up one dig shy of tying her record against Little Rock (08/30/2024).
• She is the only player on the leaderboard with two games of 20 plus digs.
STATS AMONG THE WAC
• Allison Bryant ranks 6th in the WAC in kills (102)
• Emma Halcomb is 2nd in the WAC in digs (109)
• Halcomb leads the WAC in digs per set (3.63)
• Allison Bryant is 8th in the WAC in total points
• Tarleton is 4th in the WAC in assists with 11.35 A/S
• Tarleton is 1st in the WAC in digs (496)
• Tarleton is 1st in digs per set (16.53) The second closest is Ut Arlington (14.03)
• Bryant is 3rd in the WAC in attacks per set
• Hodges is 5th in the WAC in total assists (219)
• Tarleton is 5th in the WAC in assists (335)
• Tarleton is 5th in the WAC in kills (361)
LUMBERJACK CLASSIC RECAP
• Tarleton clinched their first win of the season against the New Mexico Lobos 3-1, snapping their six-match losing streak.
• Megan Hodges had 21 assists against New Mexico. She has led the team in assists every match this season.
• Allison Bryant led the team in kills through the tournament with 25 kills in two matches.
• Tarleton had two players in double-digit assists vs Northern Arizona. Hodges (16) And Ansquer (10).
• Emma Burke tied her season-high in blocks (4) for the third time this season.
• Tarleton finished the tournament with one win and one loss.
OPPONENT SCOUTING REPORT
• McNeese (3-5 overall record)
• Sasha Karelov's third season as head coach, 34-33 overall record
• Snapped their three-match losing streak with a win vs Florida A&M, 3-0
• 55.0 total blocks, 2.0 blocks per set
• Six players in double-digit blocks this season
• McKenzie Moore leads the team with 25.0 blocks
• Moore also leads the team in total kills with 105
SCHINDLER RANKS AMONG TOP IN NATION
• Head coach Mary Schindler has 374 victories in 603 matches as a collegiate head coach, all at Tarleton.
• She ranks in the top 50 among active NCAA D1 head coaches in victories.
• Entering her 20th season, she is one of 24 active head coaches to coach 20 years or more at the same institution.
• Coach Schindler needs just 26 more victories to reach 400. She is already the winningest Texan coach in program history.
HERE COMES HARDY
• The newest addition of the 2024 Volleyball staff is Damien Hardy.
• Hardy joins Texan Nation from Menlo College where he was an assistant coach from 2019-2024.
• The Pearl City, Hawaii, native, has also coached at Notre de Namur.
• Hardy is a graduate from the class of 1991 at the University of Hawaii where he played men's volleyball.
ACADEMIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• 2023 All-WAC Academic Honors
• Emma Burke
• Megan Hodges
• Matti Theurer (Graduate Assistant)
• Madison Frank
HALCOMB'S FINAL RUN
• Emma Halcomb has officially made her return to Tarleton State Volleyball to fulfill her final season of eligibility of indoor volleyball.
• Last year, Halcomb took a break from her time on the hardwood and hit the sand courts for the inaugural season of beach volleyball at Tarleton.
• The graduate student had returned to the Wisdom Gym for one final run with Coach Schindler and the ladies of Tarleton State Volleyball.
Tarleton State will travel back to Stephenville for their first home tournament of the season, the Tarleton State Invitational. Their first match of the tournament will be against Alcorn State Friday at 10 a.m. CT.
