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Tarleton State University Athletics

McClainRiceRecap
Patrick Mulligan Patrick Mulliga
1
Tarleton St. TSU 1-3,0-0 UAC
3
Winner Rice Rice 4-0,0-0 American
Tarleton St. TSU
1-3,0-0 UAC
1
Final
3
Rice Rice
4-0,0-0 American
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Tarleton St. TSU 25 22 17 14 (1)
Rice Rice 21 25 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | Grant Cohen

Tarleton State Volleyball falls in four sets to Rice

HOUSTON – Tarleton State won the first set at Rice on Wednesday night, but the Owls took three straight sets to come out with a 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 17-25, 14-25) victory at Tudor Fieldhouse. 

The Texans came out hitting .273 in the first set while holding the Owls to just a .158 attacking percentage to take the first set 25-22. Rice, who received votes in the AVCA Top 25 poll this week, combined for a .323 attacking percentage in the final two sets to clinch the match. 

Freshman outside hitter Jacqui McClain tallied a season-high 18 kills to go with nine digs in her first start of the season. McClain was just one dig shy of having her second straight match with a double-double. Senior setter Alexis Massey posted a career-high 25 assists while freshman setter Kingsley Minus also posted double-digit assists with 15 on Wednesday. Junior libero Leddy Rae Guinn posted 19 digs, her most at the Division I level. 

Tarleton State struck first in the opening set, scoring the first two points and never looking back. The Texans went on a pair of 4-0 scoring runs in the first set to stretch the lead to six points, with a kill from fifth year outside hitter LaNeah Lara and a Rice attack error making it a 19-12 set in favor of Tarleton State. 

Rice responded with back-to-back kills, but fellow freshman Onita Davis followed McClain's strong start. A kill from Davis allowed the Texans to take back momentum while two straight kills from McClain set up a set point. Rice rallied four consecutive points before Lara's final kill in the first set helped the Texans take an early lead in the match.

After the Owls scored the first two points, the Texans went on a 5-0 scoring run and captured four straight points later in set two to take the early advantage. Rice, however, responded with six unanswered points to take a two-point lead later in the set. A service error by Rice and a kill from McClain tied the set up again before fifth year outside hitter/opposite Madison Rice-Locket came up with a service ace to make it a 13-11 set. 

A kill and service ace from Rice tied the set and sparked a rally that allowed the Owls to score six of the next seven points. Kills from Davis and McClain helped the Texans stay alive when Rice reached set point, but the Owls got the kill needed to close the set and tie the match 1-1. 

Set three was tied early at 9-9, with the Owls taking advantage of the momentum and the score. Rice used a 4-0 scoring run to make it a 22-15 lead, scoring three of the final four points to close the set in victory and take a 2-1 lead in the match. 

Rice caught fire early in the fourth set and never cooled off. Using an early 8-0 scoring run, the Owls got a double-digit lead and went up by 12 with four more unanswered points. The Texans attempted to stay alive by answering with three straight points, but Rice secured two of the final three points to win its home opener. 

Tarleton State will travel to San Antonio for the UTSA Invitational this weekend, taking on UTSA on Friday at 6 p.m. and Incarnate Word on Saturday at 1 p.m. Both matches will be available to watch on ESPN+. 
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