Texan Volleyball sweeps western road trip with four-set win in Silver City

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SILVER CITY, N.M. – Tarleton rebounded from a first-set loss to take the next three against Western New Mexico and win their 15th match of the season.

The Mustangs enjoyed a hot start to the match by winning the first set 25-23 but Tarleton jumped out to an early lead in the second set. The Mustangs clawed to tie and pull within one at 21-20, but Tarleton put a stop to any thoughts of another upset set. A service error started a 4-2 Tarleton run that Lauren Kersey capped off with a kill to even the match at one game apiece.

The third set was another nailbiter over the opening 20 points with a 10-10 tie, but Carmen Kinsey powered a kill shot for the first of a 6-1 Tarleton run to pull the Texans away at 16-11. After the Mustangs fought back to tie things at 18-18, an error and a Michaela Rodriguez ace started a set-clinching 7-3 run to win 25-21.

In the fourth set, Tarleton found itself looking at a decisive fifth game down 17-12 heading into a timeout.

Out of the break, though, Tarleton scored three straight on an error, Amber Strange kill and a Kersey and Kayla Brannon block to start a 7-2 Tarleton run to force the Mustangs into a timeout. The tie went up to 22-22 before Tarleton scored three of the final four on two Mustang errors and a match-clinching kill from Tatyana Tuialii-Umi.

Kersey led the team with 14 kills on a .481 hit percentage while Kinsey (13), Tuialii-Umi (12) and Strange (10) cracked double digits. Tualii-Umi enjoyed a double-double performance with a team-high 11 digs, tying Adriana Darthuy for the most in the game. Brannon dished out 43 assists.

Tarleton will remain on the road Tuesday night with a trip to Southeastern Oklahoma at 6 p.m.


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