SAN ANTONIO – Incarnate Word defeated Tarleton State Volleyball 3-1 (14-25, 25-20, 21-25, 22-25) to close the UTSA Invitational on Saturday at the McDermott Center.
UIW (2-4, 0-0) came out hitting .333 in the first set before Tarleton State (1-5, 0-0) answered with 13 kills and a .265 attacking percentage in the second set to knot the match up 1-1. The Cardinals, however, combined for 30 kills en route to winning two consecutive sets.
Outside hitter/opposite
Madison Rice-Locket led with a season-high 15 kills on Saturday while outside hitter
LaNeah Lara also produced double-digit kills with 10. Setters
Alexis Massey (23) and
Kingsley Minus (17) led the Texans in assists, with Minus also collecting 15 digs to register her first collegiate double-double. Libero
Leddy Rae Guinn added 16 digs and defensive specialist/libero
Alexa Earle tallied a career-high nine digs on Saturday.
UIW began the opening set on a 4-0 scoring run, extending its early advantage by using seven unanswered points. Lara ended the UIW run with a kill, but the Cardinals responded with a kill and service ace to go back up by double digits. UIW only committed three attack errors while collecting 12 kills, holding Tarleton State to a .148 attacking percentage to take the first set.
After UIW took an early lead in set two, Tarleton State scored six of the next seven points to take a 10-6 lead in the second set. Kills by Rice-Locket and opposite
Taylynn Biggs kept the Texans in front, but three straight points by UIW tied the match at 12.
Even after UIW matched the Texans' 3-0 run with three straight points, the tie sparked another Tarleton State scoring spurt.
The Texans used a 6-0 scoring run to spring ahead 21-15, with kills from middle blockers
Onita Davis and
Alyssa Dinh capping off the set two victory 25-20.
A pair of kills and a service ace allowed Tarleton State to take an early 7-2 lead in the third set, with a kill from Biggs putting the Texans in front 12-7. Two separate 3-0 scoring runs from UIW, however, allowed the Cardinals to tie the set at 17. Tarleton State used an attack error and a kill from Rice-Locket to go up 20-18 in the third set.
UIW continued to stay alive and eventually took the lead, going on a 5-0 scoring run capped off by a service ace to make it a 23-20 set. The Cardinals got two of the next three kills to take set three 25-21 and have a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Texans took an early 2-0 lead in the fourth set and extended the advantage with a 3-0 scoring run. The Cardinals countered by scoring four of the next five points to take the lead. Following a 3-0 scoring run to put the Texans back on top, UIW went on a 5-0 scoring run to go up 15-11. Tarleton State refused to quit, scoring four unanswered points to tie the set at 18.
UIW answered with a 4-0 scoring run of its own, capitalizing off a kill and a Tarleton State attack error to make it match point. The Cardinals forced Tarleton State into an attack error that allowed UIW to take the match in four sets.
Tarleton State returns to Wisdom Gym to compete in its host tournament, the Tarleton State Invitational. The Texans open the tournament against Sam Houston on Thursday at 11 a.m.
