STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton State Volleyball started the Tarleton State Invitational with a clean sweep, defeating Sam Houston 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 27-25) on Thursday afternoon in front of 1,543 fans at Wisdom Gym.
Tarleton State (2-5, 0-0) picked up its second straight sweep in its home tournament with its win over Sam Houston (5-3, 0-0). The Texans defeated Northwestern State 3-0 in the final match of last year’s invite.
Thursday’s match attendance of 1,543 was the third-highest attended Tarleton State Volleyball match in the last decade. The Texans hosted their annual “Field Trip Match”, hosting elementary school children from Erath County.
Fifth year outside hitter LaNeah Lara had a season-high 13 kills, having a hit percentage of .406. Junior middle blocker Alyssa Dinh added 11 kills on a .733 hit percentage, ranking fifth on the program’s all-time list for single match hit percentage. Fifth year outside hitter Madison Rice-Locket added 10 kills to go with nine digs while junior libero Leddy Rae Guinn added a season-high 20 digs. Setters Alexis Massey (23) and Kingsley Minus (17) both added double-digit assists on Thursday.
Fueled by the crowd’s energy early and often, the Texans opened with a 4-0 scoring run in the first set and never relinquished the lead. After trading points back and forth later in the set, Sam Houston scored three straight points to tie it up at 19 all. The Texans went back out in front thanks to a kill from freshman middle blocker Onita Davis and an attack error by Sam Houston.
Sam Houston tied it up again at 21 with two straight points, igniting a 3-0 scoring run by the Texans. A pair of kills by Dinh and an attack error by Sam Houston made it a set point for the Texans before the Bearkats responded by getting the next point. A kill from Rice-Locket capped off the first set with a 25-22 Tarleton State victory.
After going back and forth on points early in the second set, Sam Houston got a service ace and scored off a Tarleton State attack error to take a 6-4 lead. A service error and a Lara kill tied it up before a pair of kills from Rice-Locket allowed the Texans to take a 10-9 lead.
Sam Houston eyed a tied match by taking a 21-19 lead, but Tarleton State had a different schedule in mind. Kills from junior opposite Taylynn Biggs and Lara made it a set point for the Texans, with another kill from Lara giving the Texans the second set 25-23.
An early 3-0 scoring run gave Tarleton State an early two-point lead in the third set, but Sam Houston retook the advantage with two straight points after a service error from the Texans. The Texans once again used scoring runs to take control of the set, with a 3-0 scoring run giving the lead to Tarleton State and a 4-0 run extending it.
Biggs’ kill made it a 21-19 advantage for the Texans before Sam Houston scored back-to-back points to tie the set. Lara’s kill made it a match point, but Sam Houston answered with two straight points to extend the set. The Texans scored three of the final four points to complete the sweep and pick up the win in their home opener.
Tarleton State continues the Tarleton State Invitational on Friday at 6 p.m., taking on Denver at Wisdom Gym. Tickets start at just $15 and can be purchased for the whole weekend or on individual days by clicking here. Admission is free for Tarleton State students. Friday’s match is “Patriot Day” in remembrance of 9/11. T-Shirts and flags will be given away to early arriving fans.
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