STEPHENVILLE – No. 19 Tarleton Volleyball extended its winning streak to a season-high 11 matches with a non-conference sweep of Dallas Baptist (25-17, 25-22, 25-18) on Tuesday in the Wisdom Volleyball Gym.
Tarleton improves to 14-2 overall and remains atop the Lone Star Conference standings at 6-0. It’s the ninth sweep of the season for the TexAnns and fourth straight. The TexAnns have had an 11-match-or-more win streak in three of the last four seasons.
As a team, Tarleton hit .283 for the match while holding DBU (7-10) to a .219 percentage. Amber Strange led the TexAnns with a match-high 18 kills on a .571 hitting percentage while Adriana Darthuy also recorded double-digit kills with 10 to go along with a team-leading nine digs.
Tarleton had to rally early on in the opening set, trailing 5-1. The TexAnns reeled off nine of the next 11 points to go up 10-7 and never trailed again in the set. However, DBU did tie the set up at 12-12 before the TexAnns closed out on an 8-2 run.
The second set was a back-and-forth battle until the end, which featured 12 lead changes and 11 ties. DBU led by as much as 17-13 and later 20-17 before Tarleton called a timeout. The TexAnns charged back with a pair of kills from Darthuy and a service ace from Blanca Izquierdo, the reigning LSC Setter of the Week to tie the set at 20-20. Strange put the TexAnns out in front at 24-21 and Hannah McManus delivered the final kill to take a 2-0 lead in the set.
The third and final set was all Tarleton, as the TexAnns recorded six of its service aces in the set. McManus and Michaela Rodriguez each had two in the set, followed by one each from Izquierdo and Kayla Brannon. McManus’ aces came at a momentum-shifting point when the TexAnns only led 15-12, her aces pushed the lead to 19-12. The TexAnns scored five of the final seven points including Lauren Kersey’s game-ending kill to complete the sweep.
The TexAnns logged 40 digs in the three sets, with Adriana Knutson posting eight, followed by Izquierdo with seven and Brannon and Rodriguez each added six digs. Brannon also led the way with 19 assists in the match while Izquierdo registered 13 assists. McManus led the TexAnns with four blocks.
Tarleton will resume Lone Star Conference play on the road this weekend as they travel to Cameron on Friday, Sept. 28 and Midwestern State on Saturday, Sept. 29.
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