No. 18 TexAnns open season 2-0 with a pair of sweeps at Tarleton Invitational

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The TSU TexAnns are 2-0 on the young season and looking to repeat an undefeated "at-home" season. Photos by Dr. Chet Martin

STEPHENVILLE – No. 18 Tarleton Volleyball opened up the 2018 season as good as a team can – with a pair of sweeps at the Tarleton Invitational to start 2-0.

Freshman Lauren Kersey led all TexAnns with 19 kills in the two matches, followed by senior Adriana Darthuy with 18 kills. The TexAnns totaled a .233 hitting percentage while holding opponents to a .120 clip.

After going 17-0 at home last season and with two more wins today, the TexAnns have now won 26 straight home games and haven’t lost a match in the Wisdom Volleyball Gym since 2016.


Game 1: Tarleton 3, Black Hills State 0

Tarleton wasted no time jumping out in front of Black Hills State in the opening set of the season, grabbing a 14-4 lead that was powered by an 8-0 run.

Adrianna Knutson’s service ace gave the TexAnns an 18-6 lead followed by kills from Kersey and Amber Strange that led to a 4-0 run to close out the set, 25-11.

After splitting the first eight points of the second set, the TexAnns rallied with a 10-2 run for a 14-6 advantage led by a pair of kills from Hannah McManus and Tatyana Tuialii-Umi. Three straight Yellow Jacket errors gave the TexAnns a double-digit lead in the second set, 20-10. Black Hills State posted 25 errors in the match compared to 12 for the TexAnns. The double-digit lead stayed intact as the TexAnns would go on to take the set at 25-15 for a 2-0 match lead.

The TexAnns’ built a quick 10-5 lead over the Yellow Jackets in the third set and the score would reach 14-9 before the Yellow Jackets evened the score at 17-17. The TexAnns followed with five straight kills from McManus, Kersey, and Tuialii-Umi for a 23-19 lead and would pull away for the sweep with a 25-20 third-set victory.

Kersey led the TexAnns with nine kills in the opening match, followed by Darthuy’s eight kills and McManus’ seven. Blanca Izquierdo posted a game-high 16 assists, while Kayla Brannon added 12.

Defensively, Sofia Tonga recorded seven of the TexAnns’ 20 blocks and Knutson logged a game-best 17 digs.
Game 2: Tarleton 3, Harding 0

The nightcap was set up to be a showdown between two teams who each won at least 27 games last season, but the TexAnns proved to be too much for the visiting Bison.

It wasn’t an easy sweep for the TexAnns, however, as they had to come from behind in each set. In the opener, the TexAnns trailed by as much as five at 17-12 before making a rally. The TexAnns used a 7-1 run to regain the lead with a pair of kills from Adriana Darthuy and Tatyana Tuialii-Umi.

Harding made a push of its own, grabbing a 23-21 lead late in the set. With their backs to the wall, the TexAnns closed the set out on a 4-0 run that started with a kill from Lauren Kersey and followed with three straight errors by the Bison for the TexAnns to take the set, 25-23.

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The TexAnns kept the moment going early in the second set, jumping out to a 10-3 lead that featured three straight service aces from Darthuy. The Bison countered with a 9-1 run of their own to regain the lead at 12-11. With the set tied at 15-15, the TexAnns took advantage of three straight Bison errors for an 18-15 advantage and they never trailed again in the set. The two teams would exchange points for the final 14 points where the TexAnns would win the set 25-22 on Darthuy’s kill.

In the final set, the TexAnns and Bison split the first 18 points. Amber Strange’s kill gave the TexAnns an 11-9 lead and it would continue to grow thanks to a 5-1 stretch that put the TexAnns up 20-14. Strange started the momentum builder and was there to finish it with the game’s final kill for a 25-21 set win and complete the sweep.

Darthuy and Kersey each posted 10 kills to lead the team while McManus added nine kills on a .563 hitting percentage. Strange added six kills and four blocks. Blanca Izquierdo tallied 23 assists and 10 digs for the double-double, followed by Kayla Brannon with 14 assists. Adrianna Knutson recorded a team-leading 12 digs.

The TexAnns will play a double-header again on Saturday, opening up with Oklahoma Baptist at 11:30 a.m. and No. 16 Central Oklahoma at 4:30 p.m.

Visit TarletonSports.com for more information on the Tarleton Invitational and TexAnn Volleyball.

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