SAN ANTONIO – On day one of the Roadrunner Classic, the Texans shut out the Cardinals of Lamar 3-0 after a close defeat to Delaware in the first match 3-2.
DELAWARE 3 TARLETON 2
To start off tournament play, the Texans went head-to-head with the Blue Hens of Delaware. Set one ended 25-19 with the Blue Hens on top.
In the second set, Tarleton was first on the board due to an attack error from Delaware’s Kirah Johnson. The Texans and Blue Hens took turns adding to the board until the Purple and White tied the game at 16 points with a kill from Breanna McDonough. After a kill from Grayson Schirpik, the Texans put their 24th point on the board. Delaware quickly answered by adding a 23rd point. The final points of the match were earned with two kills from Allison Bryant, leaving Tarleton State to take set two 26-24.
In set three, a kill from McDonough got the Texans on the board. However, some defensive struggles left Tarleton State with 11 on the board at the end of the set.
The fourth set was a new ballgame for the Purple and White. The Blue Hens may have put up the first point, but the Texans battled back and forth and sat even with Delaware at point four. After putting the fifth point on the board, the Texans led the Blue Hens the remainder of the set. With five kills from Emma Burke, four from Bryant, a pair of kills from Rajini Fitzmaurice and a few solo kills from teammates, Tarleton State claimed set four 25-19.
Set five saw the Texans leading for nine points. The Blue Hens tallied a 10th point after an attack error from Tarleton State. The set tied at point 10 and again at 11, then Delaware took the lead with a kill from Lani Mason. After a couple errors from the Texans and another kill from Mason, Delaware took the fifth set, leaving the match final at 3-2, Blue Hens.
Match one was a hard-fought battle for two evenly matched teams. Leading the team, Bryant added another 12 kills, eight digs and 13.0 points to her name. Following closely behind Bryant, Burke tallied 11 kills with seven block assists and led the team in points with 15.5. McDonough saw a season-high of 10 kills, five block assists and 12.5 points. Schirpik contributed nine kills to the Tarleton State’s total of 53 for the match.
Matti Theurer served as libero for the Texans totaling 18 digs. Fitzmaurice complied 15 digs in addition to seven kills and 9.5 points. Megan Hodges continues to lead the team in assists after compiling another 22. Melina Maldonaldo Ortiz racked up 18 assists, her new season-high along with eight digs.
TARLETON 3 LAMAR 0
To conclude the action for the Texans on day one, Tarleton State faced the Cardinals of Lamar. Although the Cardinals held the lead for a while in the first set, the Purple and White took the first set 25-23.
In set two, Tarleton State remained in control of the court throughout the duration of the game. The first point on the board for the Texans was given after an attack error from Jordan Gipson. Burke was the first to put down a kill for Tarleton State. McDonough compiled three kills during the set accompanied by five from Schirpik and four from Madison Frank. With the fifth kill of the set from Schirpik, the Texans took set two 25-20.
In the third and final set of the match, Tarleton State led the Cardinals for most of the set although Lamar was first on the board with two kills from Gracie Cassidy. With one kill laid down from Burke, another from Bryant and a few errors from the Cardinals, the Texans took the lead. After eight kills from the Purple and White and several offensive errors from Lamar, Tarleton State held an eight-point lead as the Texans hit the 20th point mark. Although the Cardinals tried to battle back, the Texans took final set 25-18, taking the second match of the day 3-0.
Schirpik led the Texans in match two with 10 kills and 10.5 points. Burke came in second on the team with nine kills and lead the team in points with 12.5. Bryant and Fitzmaurice both tallied eight kills for the match. Fitzmaurice compiled 10 digs and 9.5 points for Tarleton State.
Hodges led the team in assists yet again with 22 and seven digs. Maldonaldo Ortiz contributed 16 assists to the Texans total of 46 against Lamar. Theurer led the Texans in digs again with 15 in three sets.
Tarleton State will take the court in their final match of the tournament Saturday against the UTSA Roadrunners at 3 p.m.
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