THE TEAMS: 

• Tarleton State Texans (5-8, 0-0 WAC)
• Southern Utah (4-7, 0-0 WAC)
• Utah Tech (6-4, 0-0 WAC)

WHERE: Cedar City, Utah / St. George, Utah
ARENA: America First Event Center (5,300) / Burns Arena (4,779)
TIME:  

• Southern Utah 7:30 p.m. CT
• Utah Tech 2 p.m. CT

STREAMING PLATFORMS: ESPN+ / WAC International

TEXAN VOLLEYBALL MATCH WEEK: Tarleton State Volleyball will head to Utah to kick off their WAC play, where they will face Southern Utah on Sept. 26 followed by Utah Tech on Sept. 28. These will be the first road matches for the Texans following the Tarleton State Invitational. Last week, the Texans went 4-1, winning their first four home games at Wisdom Gym and winning the TSU Invitational as well.

QUICK HITS:
• Allison Bryant was named WAC player of the week. Bryant was named TSU invitational's MVP as well. She broke the Texans' D1 era kills record with 27 last week against McNeese. Bryant also broke her career-high in digs with 23 against Oral Roberts.
• Allison Bryant is 14th in the nation in total kills (191).
• Emma Halcomb was named WAC Libero of the week. She tied her career-high of 25 digs against McNeese, then proceeded to burst that number once again with a 26-dig outing against ULM on Saturday. 
• Bryant ranks fourth in the WAC in kills per set (3.67).
• Emma Halcomb leads the WAC in total digs (202) and digs per set (3.88). 
• Halcomb holds the top two digs totals in a single match in the WAC this season.
•  Allison Bryant, Emma Halcomb, and Megan Hodges were all selected to the Tarleton State Invitational's All-Tournament team.
•  Tatum Busch (Freshman)  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...
•  Megan Hodges is currently seventh in the WAC in assists per set (6.54).
•  Yuna Ansquer moved up to seventh in the WAC in aces per set (0.38).
•  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.
•  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).
• The Texans are on a four-match win streak, with all of those wins coming at home.

TEXANS WIN TARLETON STATE INVITATIONAL:

• Tarleton won all three games of their home tournament, including a sweep of Alcorn State, a reverse sweep against HCU, and a five-set victory against ULM. 
• Allison Bryant, Emma Halcomb, and Megan Hodges were named to the All-Tournament team.
• Tarleton has yet to lose a game in their new home, Wisdom Gym. 
• Tarleton is on a four-match win streak after starting the season 1-8. 

BRYANT, HALCOMB WIN WAC WEEKLY AWARDS:

• Allison Bryant was named WAC player of the 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. 
• Bryant also broke her career-high for digs with 23 against Oral Roberts. 
• Bryant had three double-doubles in five matches last week.
• Bryant is 14th in the nation in total kills (191). 
• Emma Halcomb won WAC libero of the week.
• Halcomb holds the top two digs totals in a single match in the WAC this season.
• Halcomb currently leads the WAC in digs (202) and digs per set (3.88). She ranks 43rd in the country in total digs as well.
• Halcomb broke her career-high in digs (26) against Louisiana-Monroe.

HISTORY:

• Tarleton State vs. Southern Utah: Series tied 1-1 all-time, Southern Utah won last matchup 3-1.
• In their most recent match, Allison Bryant led the team in kills with 20, while Hodges let the team in assists with 21.
• Tarleton State vs Utah Tech:  Series tied 3-3 all-time, Utah Tech won last matchup 3-2. 
• In their last match, Emma Burke had six blocks.
• Hodges led the team in assists with 22, while Bryant had a team-high 10 kills.

ANSQUER AND HODGES ASSIST DUO:

• 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 (6.54). 
• 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 six double-doubles on the season, Ansquer has three.

BRYANT BREAKS TARLETON D1 ERA KILLS RECORD:

• Allison Bryant broke the Texans single-match kills record since they've been a D1 program. She had a career-high 27 kills against McNeese. 
• The previous record was held by Lauren Kersey, who had 25 kills against Texas State on Sept. 17, 2021. Bryant broke the kills record exactly three years apart from the previous one.

STATS AMONG THE WAC:

• Allison Bryant leads in the WAC in total kills (191)
• Bryant is fourth in the WAC in kills per set (3.67)
• Emma Halcomb is 1st in the WAC in digs (202)
• Halcomb leads the WAC in digs per set (3.88)
• Ansquer is seventh in the WAC in service aces per set (0.38)
• Tarleton is third in the WAC in assists per set with 11.46  A/S
• Tarleton is 1st in the WAC in digs (578)
• Tarleton is 1st in digs per set (16.51) 
• Hodges is seventh in the WAC in assists per set (6.54).
• Tarleton is third in the WAC in assists per set (11.46)
• Tarleton is fourth in the WAC in kills per set (12.31)

ORAL ROBERTS RECAP:

• Tarleton notched their first win in Wisdom Gym. This was the Texans' first home match after starting the season with nine consecutive road matches.
• The Texans had two players with double-digit kills. Bryant led the team with 22, followed by Burke with 10.
• Kristen Kuehn had double-digit digs for the second time this season.

WEEKEND RECAP:

• The Texans swept Alcorn State 3-0. Alcorn managed to get double-digit points in only one of the three sets played. 
• Allison Bryant set a career-high in hitting percentage (.615) against Alcorn.
• The Texans reverse swept Houston Christian, winning 3-2.
• Yuna Ansquer and Megan Hodges both had double-doubles.
• Hodges (28 assists, 11 digs), led the team in assists, followed by Ansquer (21 assists, 14 digs).
• Emma Burke tied her season-high in blocks with seven.
• Tarleton won the tournament with a 3-2 victory over Louisiana-Monroe. 
• Ansquer set a career-high in assists with 27.
• Halcomb set a career-high in digs with 26. 
• Hodges and Ansquer had 20-plus assists a piece.
• Madison Frank had 10 kills and four blocks.

UP NEXT: Following this week's road trip, Tarleton State Volleyball will travel back home to Stephenville where they will take on Seattle U Thursday, Oct. 3. Fans will receive free foam hands for Tarleton's Bloktober giveaway. The match will also be streamed on ESPN+.