SPECIAL TO THE FLASH
TheFlashToday.com
SAN ANGELO (November 17, 2016) – For the second time in the last week Tarleton defeated Western New Mexico, only this time it advanced the TexAnns to the Lone Star Conference tournament semifinals with a 3-0 sweep over the Mustangs.
It’s the third straight season Tarleton (25-5) has advanced to the semifinals and is looking for its third straight championship game appearance. The TexAnns will face Texas A&M-Kingsville on Friday at 5 p.m. in the Junell Center in San Angelo.
Tarleton, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, used a 5-0 run in the opening set on kills from Hailey Roberts, Autumn Taylor and Elizabeth Muliaga to pull ahead 13-8. WNMU battled back with a 6-0 run of its own to tie the set at 21-21, but the TexAnns got back-to-back kills from Alexis Applewhite and Taylor in the final stretch to win the set 25-23.
The TexAnns were tied at 8-8 in the second set when Jordyn Keamo and Roberts, Tarleton’s two first-team all-LSC representatives, had kills to start a 5-1 stretch and a 13-9 lead. The Mustangs only got to within three points the rest of the set, as Tarleton closed the set on a 7-2 run with kills from Roberts, Applewhite and Hannah McManus to win 25-17.
Looking to sweep the match, Tarleton used a late-set run to put an end to the Mustang’s season. Tied at 11-11, Muliaga and Taylor shifted the momentum with kills for a 14-11 advantage. The lead grew to 18-13 when Taylor, who had tied her career high with 15 kills, had four of the next five points for Tarleton. Taylor had five kills in the final 14 points and set the stage for Roberts to end the match with the final kill for a 25-21 win.
In addition to Taylor’s 15 kills, Roberts added 12 while Applewhite had 10 for her third double-digit kill game of the season. Jordyn Keamo, the LSC Setter of the Year, had a game-high 31 assists and also added nine digs and a pair of service aces.
Adrianna Knutson and Roberts each had a match-high 16 digs while Michaela Rodriguez posted 13 digs. Muliaga, who had five kills, also had five blocks to lead the TexAnns at the net. Applewhite had four blocks of her own as the TexAnns totaled 12 blocks in the match.
Tarleton’s 25 wins on the season is the second most in school history, trailing last year’s squad who won 27.
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