TexAnns picked second in LSC, Roberts tabbed Preseason POY

STEPHENVILLE –Hailey Roberts has been named the league’s Preseason Offensive Player of the Year for the third consecutive season while the Tarleton TexAnns were picked to finish second in the league’s annual preseason poll Tuesday.

“It’s a great accomplishment, but we have never really put a lot of stock into the preseason polls because it’s more about where we finish at the end of the year,” said head coach Mary Schindler. “It’s nice for the girls, though, because it means that people have recognized all of the hard work they’ve put in over the last few years.”

Tarleton was tabbed second in the annual league preseason ranking with 326 total votes, including nine first-place nods. The TexAnns finished 16 votes behind Angelo State (340) for the top spot in the poll and 59 votes ahead of Texas A&M-Kingsville (267) in the No. 3 spot.

The TexAnns are coming off their third straight trip to the NCAA regional tournament with an overall record of 27-7. Tarleton is currently ranked No. 25 in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association and will play their first match as a nationally-ranked program when the season opens September 1 in Stephenville against Maryville at 12:30 p.m. in Wisdom Gym.

Meanwhile, Roberts was named the league’s top offensive preseason threat for the third consecutive year – which makes her the first player in Lone Star Conference history to be named the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year three times according to available records.

Roberts enters her senior season as the school’s all-time leader in kills (1,845). She is coming off a first-team all-LSC season in which she led the league and the nation in kills (608), as well as being named the D2CCA Ron Lenz National Player of the Year.

Roberts and the TexAnns will make their season debut on September 1 at 12:30 p.m. in Wisdom Gym against Maryville in the Tarleton Invitational.

LSC Preseason Poll:

1. Angelo State (21) 340
2. Tarleton State (9) 326
3. Texas A&M-Kingsville (1) 267
4. Texas A&M-Commerce 236
5. West Texas A&M 233
6. Eastern New Mexico 204
7. Western New Mexico 153
8. Texas Woman’s 120
9. Midwestern State 106
10. UT-Permian Basin 74
11. Cameron 53