TexAnns already have one hand on LSC title trophy

Jordyn Keamo and Amber Strange are two of the leading contributors as Tarleton State approaches its second Lone Star Conference championship, which would mean the TexAnns host the LSC tournament following the reigular season. || Photo by Dr. CHET MARTIN

Flash Staff Report
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STEPHENVILLE (October 23, 2017) — Tarleton State put the Lone Star Conference in a chokehold Saturday.

When Texas A&M-Commerce lost at … Friday, the TexAnns had a near perfect setup left ahead of them. They knew taking care of the Lady Lions on Saturday would mean more than a school-record 13th consecutive win and more than avenging a prior loss – it would take away the head-to-head advantage the Lions held after knocking off the TexAnns more than a month prior, and leave them trailing Tarleton by not just two but three matches with five remaining.

No. 13 Tarleton State may also move up in the national rankings, but the TexAnns have time after the regular season and conference tournament to impress the rest of the country. The magic number to lock up the conference title is not quite zero yet, and there is still a matter of avoiding letdowns that may gift someone a higher seed in the LSC tournament.

A tournament that would be in Stephenville, by the way, assuming the TexAnns don’t suffer a monumental collapse to end the season.

The home stretch, so to speak, begins with Angelo State visiting Wisdom Volleyball Gym at 7 p.m. Tuesday, and given the recent history between the titans of the LSC, stands to be the most glaring risk of a loss by Tarleton, which is also thinking regional rankings as the second-highest nationally ranked team in the South Cenrtral Region, four spots behind No. 9 Regis (Colo.), which suffered a loss last week.

Of course there is no promise the regional and national rankings will align, just as there is no promise Tarleton will beat an ASU team it was swept by in a non-conference tournament match in Colorado early in the year, though the TexAnns did avenge that loss by trumping the Rambelles in four sets for their second-ever win in San Angelo early on in conference play.

Head coach Mary Schindler is on the cusp of a second Lone Star Conference regular season championship as hed coach of the Tarleton State volleyball team she once competed for. || Photo by Dr. CHET MARTIN

That was the first game of what is now a historic win streak, one the TexAnns hope to ride straight to the No. 1 spot in the region.

With or without that honor, it would take Angelo State’s best effort and a whole lot else to go the way of the rest of the field to keep the TexAnns from celebrating their second-ever LSC regular-season title, also their second in three years.