STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton State Volleyball takes down Texas Southern and UMES to complete their time in the Dr. Pam Littleton Classic.
After a win over UC Riverside to finish out day one of tournament play, the Texans swept the Tigers of Texas Southern and defeated the Hawks from UMES to complete the weekend’s action.
TARLETON 3 TEXAS SOUTHERN 0
In set one, the Tigers saw the first two points on the board after an error from the Texans followed by a service ace from Dallas Balanay-Flores. A kill from Breanna McDonough put up the first point for Tarleton State. Rajini Fitzmaurice responded with a kill to tally point two for the Purple and White and another kill from McDonough gave the Texans the lead, 3-2. A kill from Chenise Cook and a few errors from Tarleton State gave Texas Southern a three-point lead. An error from the Tigers followed by back-to-back kills from Fitzmaurice put the Texans ahead 11-8. The Purple and White held the lead for the remainder of the set. A kill from Allison Bryant followed by two errors from Texas Southern put up the final points for Tarleton State ending the set, 25-18.
The second stanza began with a kill from Amber Johnson to put the Tigers on the board first. Texas Southern was up 3-2 until a kill from McDonough sent Tarleton State on an eight-score run with two kills from McDonough, two kills from Madison Frank, and a kill from Bryant to put the Purple and White up 9-3. The Texans kept the fire burning and held the lead for the rest of the frame. Another four-score run saw Tarleton State put up the 22nd point making the score 22-15. A kill from Fitzmaurice followed by a block from Emma Burke and Grayson Schirpik tallied the next two points for the Texans. The set point for the Purple and White came from a service error on Texas Southern.
The third and final set of the match saw a kill from Fitzmaurice claim the first point for Tarleton State. An error from the Tigers put the Texans up 2-0. A kill from Kennedy Reed tallied point one for TSU. Burke responded with a kill to put up another point for the Purple and White. An error from Tarleton State and a kill from Johnson tied the set at three. Bryant took back the lead for the Texans, but Johnson added another point to the board for Texas Southern with a kill to even the score. A kill from Schirpik put Tarleton State ahead, where they stayed for the remainder of the frame. Reed and Kourtni Collier took turns adding points to the board for TSU, but the Texans held their own. Schirpik put down another kill beginning a five-score run for the Purple and White making the score 22-11. Fitzmaurice and Burke both added kills to see the 23rd and 24th points for Tarleton State and an error from the Tigers put up the set point for the Texans with a 25-16 final.
Tarleton State tallied 43 kills, 38 digs, eight blocks and seven aces on the match. Fitzmaurice led the Texans with 13 kills. Bryant and Burke tied in second for kills with seven each.
Fitzmaurice and Burke saw three aces each and Matti Theurer tallied an ace as well. Burke led the Purple and White with five blocks while Fitzmaurice and Frank compiled three apiece. Hodges led in assists with 20 and Melina Maldonaldo Ortiz racked up 14. Fitzmaurice and Theurer tied for most digs with eight each and Hodges saw six of her own.
TARLETON STATE 3 UMES 1
In set one, the UMES Hawks came out strong with three kills and an error from Tarleton State to put the Texans down 4-0. An error from the Hawks gave the Purple and White their first point of the stanza and a kill from Bryant tallied point two. The Texans were down by seven but some fight from Tarleton State and a kill from Bryant began a six-score run to put the Texans up 16-15. In a back-and-forth battle, each team took turns putting down kills and collecting errors until two kills from Anjola Omolewa and an error from Tarleton State put the Hawks up 23-20. The Purple and White replied with a four-score run to take the lead. A kill from Nkemjika Ikemefuna tied the set 24-24. Frank put down a kill for the Texans and an error from UMES saw the set end 26-24 with Tarleton State on top.
The Purple and White claimed the first point of the second set with a kill from Fitzmaurice. An error from the Texans added a point for the Hawks. Tarleton State quickly responded with a kill from Fitzmaurice to begin a six-point score run with a kill and an ace from Fitzmaurice, two kills from Bryant, a kill from Burke and a block from Burke and McDonough to put Tarleton State in the lead 7-1. After a kill from Bryant, UMES put up five consecutive points with three kills from Soleil Cotton and two aces from Ikemefuna leaving UMES trailing by one point. Bryant laid down another kill making the score 13-11, but back-to-back kills from the Hawks tied the frame. Fitzmaurice and Schirpik contributed two kills and a service ace from Theurer put the Texans ahead by three. A service ace from Ranyla Griggs followed by several errors from Tarleton State gave the lead to UMES. As the Purple and White were down 17-20, a couple of errors from the Hawks and back-to-back service aces from Fitzmaurice put the Texans ahead, 21-20. A kill from McDonough tied the set at the 22nd point but Ikemefuna responded with a kill to regain the lead for UMES. An error from Tarleton State followed by a service ace from Ikemefuna finalized the second stanza with a score of 25-23 for the Hawks.
In the third set, a kill from Griggs tallied the first point for UMES. The Texans responded with a kill and service ace from Fitzmaurice followed by an attack error from the Hawks and another kill from Bryant to make the score 4-1. Several errors from the Purple and White accompanied by a service ace and two kills from UMES put the Hawks up, 8-5. Tarleton State battled back with a kill from Fitzmaurice tying the set 12-12. Both teams took turns laying down kills until a kill from McDonough followed by an error from UMES and a kill from Frank claimed the lead for the Purple and White, 20-18. Omolewa and Griggs put down several kills for the Hawks, but it wasn’t enough to take down the Texans. Two kills from Fitzmaurice and a kill from Frank tallied the final points for Tarleton State ending the the set, 25-22.
The fourth and final stanza began will a kill from Cotton to tally point one for UMES. McDonough responded with a kill for Tarleton State. A kill and service ace from Burke followed by two attack errors from the Hawks put the Purple and White up, 6-2. Although UMES fought back, the Texans held the lead for the rest of the frame. Schirpik, Burke and Fitzmaurice each put down a kill and Burke tallied a block for a four-score run for the Purple and White, putting the Texans ahead, 16-7. The Hawks added a couple kills and service aces in an effort to close the gap but the fight from Tarleton State was unmatched. The Purple and White raced to the finish line with a seven-score run made up of three aces from Burke, kills from Burke, Frank and Bryant as well as a block from McDonough and Frank for the addition of the 24th point for the Texans. McDonough claimed the match point for Tarleton State with a kill finalizing set four, 25-13.
The Purple and White racked up 52 kills, 46 digs, 11 blocks and a new season-high of 12 service aces on the match. Fitzmaurice and Bryant tied for most kills with 13 each and Schirpik compiled eight on the nightcap. Burke led the team with six aces, while Fitzmaurice racked up four and Theurer two. Burke, Fitzmaurice and Theurer each reached a new season high in aces in the match against UMES. Burke and McDonough tied with five blocks to lead the Texans followed closely by Frank with four of her own. Maldonaldo Ortiz led Tarleton State with 22 assists and Hodges sat in second with 21. Theurer had 11 digs on the night, Hodges finished with nine and Fitzmaurice with five.
Tarleton State completed the second annual Dr. Pam Littleton Classic 3-0 and the team added new season-highs in several categories.
The Texans will be back in action to kickstart conference play with back-to-back home matches. Utah Valley will make their way to Wisdom Volleyball Gym on Sept. 21 at 6 p.m. CT. Next, Tarleton State will take on Seattle U in Stephenville, Texas, on Sept. 23 for a midday match at 1 p.m. CT.
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