NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Tarleton State Volleyball fell 3-0 at Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday night at Shelton Gym.
The Texans (4-4) fell to their former WAC foe the Ladyjacks in straight sets, 16-25, 22-25, 24-25.
LaNeah Lara and Emma Burke led the Texans with eight kills apiece. Madison Rice-Lockett and Alyssa Dinh followed with seven kills. Dinh recorded an attack percentage of .875, a career-high for the redshirt freshman.
Megan Hodges totaled 20 assists and 13 digs to record her fourth double-double of the season. Morgan Carter paced the Texans with 15 digs and added six assists.
In the opening frame, Tarleton State started with momentum, highlighted by early kills from Rice-Locket and Lara. But, costly attack and service errors quickly shifted control to SFA. Despite strong moments from Burke and Dinh, the Texans struggled to slow down the Ladyjacks offense. Two late kills from Dinh and Rice-Locket kept Tarleton State within reach, but errors in key moments allowed SFA to close out the frame, 25-16.
The Texans came out stronger in the second set, trading points early before building momentum behind kills from Burke, Rice-Locket, and Lara. A service ace from Victoria Fontenot and a string of back-to-back kills helped the Texans go on a six-point scoring run to surge an 18-10 lead. Madison Frank and Lara continued to add to the attack as Tarleton State maintained control of the match. However, SFA stormed back with a dominant service run, scoring eight straight points to erase the deficit and tie the set at 20. Despite a late kill from Burke and efforts from sets from Hodges and kills from Dinh, Tarleton State could not slow the Ladyjacks offense down the stretch falling 25-22 in a tough comeback set.
In the third set, Tarleton State battled through a back-and-forth start before finding rhythm behind early kills from Lara, Dinh, and Burke. The Texans pushed ahead with contributions from Breannah Peterson and Rice-Locket, eventually building momentum to erase a mid-set deficit. Strong playmaking from Hodges fueled a late surge, as kills from Frank, Rice-Locket, and Peterson brought the Purple and White to face match point trailing, 24-21. Peterson delivered a pair of timely kills to put the Texans on a 3-0 run to tie the frame at 24. But, costly attack errors in the final rallies swung the set back to the Ladyjacks, with Tarleton State narrowly falling. 26-24.
The Texans will return home to open their homestand as hosts of the Texan Classic spanning from Thursday to Saturday. The first of three matches for the Texans will be against Arkansas Pine-Bluff on Thursday at 6 p.m. The Purple and White will close its final tournament of the season with a Friday night match against Louisiana Tech and a Saturday matinee match against North Texas on Family Weekend.
