TexAnns record first-ever sweep of West Texas A&M

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Photo by Dr. CHET MARTIN

SPECIAL TO THE FLASH
TarletonSports.com

STEPHENVILLE (October 30, 2016) – Led by 27 combined kills from Hailey Roberts and Autumn Taylor, the TexAnns swept West Texas A&M for the first time in program history Saturday afternoon to earn win No. 20 on the season.

It is the seventh win overall against West Texas A&M for Tarleton and the fifth straight dating back to the 2014 Lone Star Conference Tournament semifinals. It is also the second consecutive regular season sweep of the Lady Buffs for Tarleton.

The match started off tight as the teams traded the first 18 points to a 9-9 tie before Roberts blasted home her second kill of the set to put Tarleton on top for good at 10-9. Her third and fourth kills of the set extended the lead to 13-10 before a Jordyn Keamo ace forced the Lady Buffs into a timeout at 14-10.


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Out of the break, the TexAnns continued to pour it on as Roberts powered down two straight kills and Keamo extended the lead to 18-10 with back-to-back service aces. Tarleton scored seven of the final 13 points down the stretch to take the opening set 25-16.

Tarleton jumped out to a big lead in the second set, including three straight to open the game served up by Michaela Rodriguez. The TexAnns rode that momentum out to a 19-11 lead. West Texas A&M rallied to cut Tarleton’s lead down to 24-21 before Alexis Applewhite powered home the final point of the set to cap off a 25-21 victory.

West Texas A&M opened the third set with two straight points before the TexAnns overcame and took a 9-7 advantage. A Lady Buff kill cut the Tarleton lead down to 9-8, but a service error on the ensuing serve put Tarleton back up two and turned the tide in favor of Tarleton.

Adrianna Knutson took over the serving duties and served up five straight points to extend the Tarleton lead to 15-8. Tarleton edged out the Lady Buffs 10-9 the rest of the way to secure the milestone win for the program.

Roberts, who opened the match with 12 kills and no errors on her first 18 swings, finished with a team-leading 17 kills and 11 digs for her 19th double-double of the season and the 58th of her illustrious career. Autumn Taylor finished with 10 kills and just one error on 20 swings for a team best .450 hitting percentage.

Jordyn Keamo dished out 36 assists and served up five of the team’s seven aces. Knutson led the way with 16 digs on the day.

Tarleton will return to action next weekend for the final home matches of the season, beginning with a 6 p.m. match against Midwestern State Friday night and wrapping up with a 12 p.m. showdown Saturday afternoon against Cameron on Senior Day in Wisdom Gym.


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Photos by Dr. CHET MARTIN

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