LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Tarleton State Volleyball obtained its second consecutive sweep and started its three-match road swing in victory, picking up a 3-0 win (29-27, 26-24, 25-21) at Little Rock on Thursday night at the Jack Stephens Center.
Tarleton State (8-12, 4-3 UAC), who swept ACU at Wisdom Gym on Saturday, got back-to-back sweeps for the first time in conference play since 2021. Little Rock (8-12, 2-6 UAC) had a set point three different times in the opening frame, but Tarleton State tied it up all three times and completed the comeback 29-27. The Texans rode that momentum to take two more sets to finish the sweep.
Fifth year outside hitter/opposite Madison Rice-Locket had her fifth double-double of the season with 12 kills and 11 digs, her second straight match with a double-double. Senior opposite Breannah Peterson and fifth year outside hitter LaNeah Lara added 11 kills each while setters Alexis Massey (22) and Peyton Fadal (17) once again came up with double-digit assists. Reigning UAC Defensive Player of the Week Leddy Rae Guinn had a match-high 18 digs and junior defensive specialist Aubrey Acheson had her first double-digit dig match with 10 on Thursday.
After going on a 4-0 scoring run to take the early lead in set one, Little Rock’s Bella Cherry came up with a kill to give the Trojans a 10-6 lead. Tarleton State answered with three straight points before a kill from junior middle blocker Alyssa Dinh tied the set at 15. Little Rock countered with back-to-back points, capitalizing off Tarleton State’s attack errors to put themselves two points away from clinching the set.
The Texans refused to quit, feeding Lara for three straight kills that allowed Tarleton State to tie it at 23. Even when Little Rock made it a set point, the comeback kids struck again. Davis made it a 24-24 set before the Trojans got their next set point. Lara’s leadership continued, getting the kill to keep the frame alive.
With the set tied at 26, it was the Texans’ turn for a set point opportunity. A kill from Rice-Locket gave the Texans a chance to clinch, but Little Rock countered with a kill of its own. Set one was finally decided on the next two points when the Texans got the final pair needed to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Opening the second set on a 3-0 scoring run, the Texans took control early in the second set and had an 11-7 lead after a service ace from Guinn. Little Rock eventually got four of the next five points before a kill from senior middle blocker Madison Frank kept the momentum from shifting. The Texans held their lead all the way through set point, but two straight points from the Trojans kept the frame alive.
This time the Texans would make it a quick end to the set. Tarleton State obtained the final two points to take the second set 26-24 and a 2-0 lead in the match.
Despite only having a hit percentage of .178 in the third frame, the Texans did what they had to do to get the sweep. Little Rock was forced into eight attack errors and only eight kills, giving the Trojans a .000 attack percentage that resulted in the Texans taking set three 25-21 and coming away with the sweep.
Tarleton State continues its United Athletic Conference road trip on Saturday, traveling to nearby Conway, Arkansas, for its second meeting with Central Arkansas.
Be the first to comment