CEDAR CITY, Utah – Texan Volleyball reverse swept Southern Utah, 3-2 (25-22,25-19, 26-24, 25-23, 15-12) in Cedar City, Utah on Saturday afternoon clenching the 3-seed in the WAC Tournament. The Texans will face the 6-seed, California Baptist, in the first match of the tournament at 1 p.m. on Thursday at Moody Coliseum in Abilene, Texas.
Tehana Mo’o led the Texans at the net with 13 kills and 10 digs, recording her first double-double of the season. Madison Frank followed 12 kills and Madison Rice-Locket rounded out the Texan’s attack with 11 kills and eight kills. Emma Burke led the Texan defense at the net with five blocks with Alyssa Dinh following with four blocks and Breannah Peterson notching three blocks to round out the Texan defense.
Megan Hodges set the Texans up for success with 30 assists and eight digs. Teya Nguyen contributed 21 assists to round out the Texans’ setting efforts. Morgan Carter totaled 18 digs, followed by Leddy Rae Guinn, who contributed 14 digs to steady the back row for the Texans.
The Texans came out the gate strong off a kill from Dinh to start off the first set for the Texans. Frank and Rice-Locket contributed to the early lead for the Texans with a kill and a service ace. The Thunderbirds went on a four-point run to even the score 5-5 but the Texans quickly answered with a kill from Frank. The Texans continued down the stretch of the first set with the lead, fueled by a block by Peterson and kills from Burke and Rice-Locket. The Thunderbirds went on an 8-1 run until Mo’o delivered a timely kill for the Texans side out. Burke, Rice-Locket, and Dinh cut the deficit with a key block but the Thunderbirds came out on top 25-22.
The Texans opened the second set with a kill from Frank to get the Texans rolling. Burke, Rice-Locket, and Mo’o delivered timely kills to keep the Texans competitive. Points were traded back and forth down the stretch of the match until the Thunderbirds begin to separate on a 7-2 run to close the set, 25-19.
Tarleton and Southern Utah traded blows throughout a tense opening set that featured 16 ties and constant momentum swings. Early on, Burke and Dinh provided steady offensive answers for the Texans, while Southern Utah leaned on key offensive plays to match point-for-point. Tarleton State blocking highlighted by solo stuffs from Burke and Peterson helped the Texans break up several SUU surges, but the Thunderbirds continued to counter with timely kills. Mid-set aces from Leddy Rae Guinn and a late push from Rice-Locket kept Tarleton State within reach, though SUU briefly grabbed set point at 25–24. The Texans stayed composed, and behind back-to-back kills from Peterson and another finish off a Burke serve, Tarleton closed out the marathon frame 26–24 to stay competitive in the match.
Tarleton State opened the third set strong with kills from Burke and Dinh to help the Texans stay in the match. Mo’o contributed back-to-back kills, allowing the Texans to grab an early lead. Rice-Lockett notched key kills and blocks to continue to fuel the Texans and allow the Texans to separate from the Thunderbirds. Both teams traded points back-and-forth down the stretch of the match with the Texans’ pursuit to push a fifth set fueled by multiple kills and blocks from Dinh and Peterson. The Texans were successful in their efforts to push for a fifth set behind key kills from Mo’o and Dinh to close out the fourth set 25-23.
The Texans came out in the fifth set swinging, recording the first point behind a Rice-Locket kill. The Texan’s attack was fueled by multiple timely kills from Frank and Mo’o allowing the Texans to reach eight first and allowing the Texans to lead in the second half of the set. A 4-2 run allowed the Texans to build the advantage over the Thunderbirds behind kills from Dinh and Rice-Locket. The Texans stayed composed and finished the fifth and final set strong ending the match on a service error from SUU, allowing the Texans to seal a victory for the last regular season match.
The Texans will return home to prepare for the WAC Tournament where they will open tournament play against California Baptist at 1 p.m. in Abilene, Texas.
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