SAN ANTONIO – Tarleton State Volleyball came into day two of the Roadrunner Classic hungry for another win after a 3-0 victory over Lamar to end day one of the tournament. The Texans came out on top in the fifth set against the host, the Roadrunners of UTSA, to finish off the tournament in San Antonio.
TARLETON 3 UTSA 2
After finishing off the first day of tournament play with a win over the Cardinals, the Texans were set on adding another victory to their record for the season.
To kickstart the match, Tarleton State claimed the first point on the board after a kill from Allison Bryant. In what quickly became a back and forth set, the Roadrunners took the reins and turned up the heat, leading the Texans the majority of the match. As UTSA put up their 24th point of the set, the Purple and White answered the Roadrunners with a kill from Grayson Schirpik immediately followed by a kill from Madison Frank. While the Roadrunners tried to regain their composure, two errors from UTSA and another kill from Bryant added the 24th point to the board for Tarleton State. UTSA was first to point 25 with a kill from Cansu Gunaydin. Emma Burke quickly returned the favor as she put down another kill for the Texans. Burke blocked two attack attempts to rack up the final points for Tarleton State, taking set one 27-25.
In similar fashion to the first set, Bryant laid down another kill putting the Texans on the board first. The Roadrunners turned up the heat offensively leading the Texans 10 at one point during the match. Tarleton State closed the gap after several errors from UTSA and another kill from Burke, leaving the set final at 25-20 with the Roadrunners on top.
Set three began with two on the board for the Texans before UTSA found their way. With both teams taking turns controlling the court, the Roadrunners broke out and adding 10 consecutive points to the board to take the set 25-18.
The fourth set found the Purple and White looking for redemption. With two errors from the Roadrunners, the Texans took first two points of the set. Three consecutive kills from Tarleton State tallied the fifth point of the set. As the Texans remained in the lead throughout the duration of the set, the Roadrunners fought to catch up but match the energy of the Purple and White. As UTSA put up their 19th point of the set with a kill from Faye Wilbricht, Tarleton State answered with three more kills to end the fourth set 25-19, forcing a set five.
For the first time throughout the match, UTSA found their way to the board first in set five after an error from the Texans. With a kill from Rajini Fitzmaurice followed by a service ace from the Florida, native, Tarleton State added two points to the board. The Roadrunners got to work as they led the Texans by five at one point in the set. However, that didn’t last for long. Tarleton State caught up quickly after a kill from Schirpik and another from Burke followed by three blocked attack attempts from Burke. A kill from Breanna McDonough kept the set alive as she tallied the 13th point for the Texans. Fitzmaurice claimed point 14 for the Texans with a service ace. After a blocked attack attempt from McDonough, UTSA saw the 15th point of the set. Two consecutive kills from Bryant and a kill from McDonough saw the Texans seal the deal on an exhilarating fifth set ending 17-15.
The Texans leave the Roadrunner Classic 2-1 after a heartbreaking loss to Delaware in the fifth set, a 3-0 match against Lamar and a five set match against UTSA that left everyone on the edge of their seat.
Fitzmaurice saw her best match of the season so far leading the team with 15 kills for the match, her new season-high, also led the team with 17 digs, three service aces, three block assists and 19.5 points. Bryant and Schirpik tied for second in kills for the match with 14 each. Schirpik also totaled 14.0 points for the match. Alongside Bryant’s 14 kills are eight digs, 16.0 points, two block assists and a service ace. McDonough tallied 12 kills for the match with 12.5 points.
Burke compiled eight kills, 12.5 points and led the team with five block assists and the only two solo blocks for the Texans. Hodges led the Texans in assists once again with 29, 12 digs, 3.0 points and two digs. Freshman Charlize Ching holds second place in assists for the Purple and White with 16 and 10 digs.
Tarleton State will be back on the road again for their third tournament of the season. The Texans will make their way to Birmingham, Alabama September 8-9 where they will take on Texas A&M Commerce, UAB and Alabama.
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