RIVERSIDE, California- Tarleton State put together a resilient performance on the road Thursday night, defeating California Baptist 3–1 (25-15, 25–23, 25–19, 25–23) in a hard-fought matchup for their conference opener.
Madison Frank led the Texans’ offense at the net, posting a career-high 17 kills with an impressive .382 hitting percentage as a junior outside hitter. Madison Natori Rice-Lockett added nine kills, along with nine digs and three blocks, while Emma Burke anchored the defense with a team-high six blocks. Breannah Peterson followed with five blocks and Alyssa Dinh also tallied four blocks.
Megan Hodges set the Texans up well with 24 assists. She also led the Texans in digs with 12 digs. Libero, Morgan Carter, totaled 11 digs.
Tarleton State came out strong in the opening frame, taking control early and never letting go on their way to a 25-15 win. The Texans struck first as Hodges set up Frank for a pair of early kills, sparking a quick lead. Frank stayed hot at the net, racking up multiple kills off Hodges’ assists, while LaNeah Lara added to the early surge with a swing of her own. Burke and Rice-Locket turned defense into offense with key blocks, including a solo block from Burke that pushed the Texans further ahead. Carter kept the momentum rolling with steady serving that helped fuel a 6-1 Tarleton run, capped by another Frank kill. Off the bench, Teya Nguyen and Peterson made an immediate impact, as Nguyen dropped in smooth assists and added a kill while Peterson notched a kill of her own and teamed up with Burke for a block. Leddy Rae Guinn provided energy from the service line and chipped in offensively with a kill, while Dinh delivered a momentum-swinging kill late in the frame. The Texans closed the set in style as Peterson and Burke combined on another block, and Dinh smashed down the set point kill off Nguyen’s assist before Tarleton forced an error to clinch the opener 25-15.
Tarleton State battled through a tight second frame and held on late for a 25-23 win to go up 2-0 in the match. The Texans grabbed early momentum as Dinh opened the set with a kill before Carter delivered a service ace to spark a 4-1 lead. Lara and Frank followed with kills, and Carter’s steady serving helped the Texans build to 6-2. Burke and Rice-Locket protected the net with back-to-back solo blocks that pushed the score to 10-5 and forced a CBU timeout. Out of the break, Burke struck again with a kill and later combined with Dinh for a block assist to keep Tarleton ahead. When California Baptist rallied to tie the set at 15, the Texans answered with Lara’s second
kill of the frame. Down the stretch, Burke powered down another kill, Rice-Locket buried two late points, and Nguyen surprised the defense with a kill of her own off an assist from Rice-Locket. Peterson closed strong, first slamming home a kill to push the Texans to 21 and then delivering the set-winner at 25-23 off a perfect set from Nguyen. The Texans’ mix of blocking at the net and clutch kills from multiple hitters sealed the second set and gave Tarleton State firm control of the match.
In the third set, Tarleton State fought to stay in rhythm but couldn’t overcome California Baptist’s fast start, eventually dropping the frame 25-15. The Texans broke through after an early deficit when Rice-Locket put down a kill from Hodges to get them on the board. Frank then caught fire with three straight kills, two coming off Hodges’ quick sets and another from Carter’s assist, cutting into the early CBU lead. Off the bench, Peterson and Nguyen gave Tarleton State a spark, and later Burke shifted momentum with a service ace followed by a kill from Dinh. Frank answered again midway through the set with her fourth kill, while Burke and Dinh combined for a block assist to stop a CBU run. Peterson closed the frame strong at the net, picking up a solo block before teaming up with Burke for another stuff to save set points. Despite those late defensive highlights, Tarleton State couldn’t close the gap and fell 25-15, sending the match into a fourth frame.
Tarleton State opened the fourth set with Frank earning the first point despite an early attack error, quickly following up with a kill assisted by Hodges to tie the score 1–1. Guinn entered as a sub and helped Tarleton State take the lead 2–1 with another kill, while Burke and Frank combined for successive kills to extend the Texans’ advantage to 4–2. Rice-Locket added a powerful kill at 6–4, though Tarleton State faced some setbacks with attack errors at 6–5 and 7–7. The Texans responded with key kills from Frank, Burke, and Lara to maintain pressure, including a kill from Frank at 13–17 and another from Burke at 14–18. Tarleton State’s Carter contributed a service ace at 18–20, followed by critical kills from Ryan and Lara to keep the set close. At 22–22, Guinn delivered a clutch service ace to tie the set, and after a Tarleton State’s service error at 22–23, Frank struck with a kill off Hodges’ assist at 24–23. Burke forced an attack error from California Baptist to set up match point, and Frank finished with a decisive kill, giving the Texans a hard-fought 25–23 win in the fourth set.
The Texans will travel to Utah to compete against Utah Valley at 2 p.m. on Saturday for their second game of conference play.
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