STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton State Volleyball began the United Athletic Conference era in victory, defeating UT Arlington 3-1 (25-15, 23-25, 25-16, 25-22) on Tuesday night at Wisdom Gym.
The Texans (5-9, 1-0) accumulated a hit percentage of .324, the second time in the last three matches Tarleton State has hit .320 or better. Tarleton State also combined for 70 digs and forced UTA (6-7, 0-1) to just a .135 hit percentage.
Freshman middle blocker Onita Davis led with a match-high 15 kills, hitting .429 on Tuesday. Davis, the reigning UAC Freshman of the Week, had the most kills by a freshman in a conference opener in the program’s Division I era. Sophomore middle blocker Alyssa Dinh added 13 kills and fifth year outside hitter LaNeah Lara tallied 10 kills.
Tarleton State also had a double-double duo in setter Alexis Massey and outside hitter/opposite Madison Rice-Locket. Massey had 33 assists to go with 12 digs for her second double-double of the season while Rice-Locket had 10 kills and 14 digs for her second double-double in the last three matches. Massey and Rice-Locket are the first Tarleton State duo since 2020 to have a double-double in a conference opener.
Defensively, libero Leddy Rae Guinn tallied 26 digs. It is the most digs by a Tarleton State player in a conference opener since 2009.
The Texans came out firing in the first set, scoring the first seven points to take command of the opening frame. A kill from Davis and a service ace from Guinn allowed the Texans to go up by double digits, with kills from Dinh and Davis putting Tarleton State up 17-6. UTA answered with a 4-0 scoring run before a kill from Lara kept the Texans’ lead at bay.
Tarleton State forced UTA into a .111 hit percentage in the opening set, taking the first set with ease. The Texans scored three of the final four points to take set one 25-15.
UTA countered a response by stepping up its game in the second set. Despite the Texans hitting .308 in the second set, the Mavericks improved its hit percentage and finished set two hitting .344 to tie the match with a 25-23 win in the set.
Just as they had in the first set, the Texans stormed to a strong set in the third frame.
After UTA scored the first point of the third set, Tarleton State responded with eight unanswered points. Kills from Davis and Dinh made it a nine-point set before UTA answered with four straight points. Tarleton State went back up by eight points thanks to kills from Lara, Dinh and a pair of kills from senior middle blocker Madison Frank.
Following a 3-0 Tarleton State run, the Texans scored two of the final three points to take set three 25-16 and go up 2-1 in the match. The Texans hit .326 while holding UTA to just a .068 attacking percentage.
Holding UTA to just .056 hitting in the final frame, the Texans took control of the fourth set en route to its first victory as members of the UAC. UTA took an early 13-11 lead, but the Texans scored three of the next four points to tie the set. Dinh scored back-to-back kills to give her team the lead, with the Texans forcing UTA into five straight attack errors to capture the fourth set and the match.
Tarleton State returns to Wisdom Gym on Saturday to take on North Alabama at 1 p.m. Saturday is Hawaiian Day, where free purple leis will be given out to go with the Hawaiian theme. Tickets start at just $10 and can be purchased here. Tarleton State students receive free admission.
Be the first to comment