FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - The Texans faced a tall task going against a 5-2 New Mexico team out of the Mountain West Conference, but they stood firm and beat the Lobos in Flagstaff, Arizona, on Friday night to open the Northern Arizona Invitational.
Tarleton State (1-6) broke through for its first win of the year playing against one of its toughest opponents. The Lobos (5-3) dropped their second straight match of the event, having lost to the host Lumberjacks the day before.
The Texans opened with a commanding first set victory 25-18. The Lobos responded to take Set 2 25-19. Tarleton State rallied in both Sets 3-4, coming back from a 24-20 deficit in the fourth to win 25-23 and 29-27, respectively.
This was the first of two matches for Tarleton in Flagstaff. The Texans will play Northern Arizona on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT.
The Texans had three players with double-digit kills. led the team with 18 kills, followed by with 11 and with 11. Bryant added onto her points total with 19 total points. She currently ranks in the WAC top-10 for total points.
had 21 assists, adding on to her impressive 182 total assists which ranks fourth in the WAC. Hodges also tallied a team-high 14 digs. had 16 assists, her new season-high.
The Texans set their season-high as a team with eight service aces. Hodges led the team with three, followed by with two. Additionally, tied her season-high block total with four.
The Texans took a commanding 10-3 lead in Set 1, paving their way to a 25-18 set victory. In Set 2, it was back and forth until 13-13, when the Lobos went on a four-point run, fueling their 25-19 set victory to tie.
In Set 3, The Texans were down 14-19 but then went on a 6-0 run thanks to an ace from and two attack errors by the Lobos. Tarleton went on to win Set 3, 25-23.
In Set 4, the Texans found themselves down 17-22 after a 5-0 run from the Lobos. Both teams continued to battle until it was 20-24, set point for New Mexico. Tarleton then went on a four-point run to tie the set 24-24, thanks to three consecutive errors by the Lobos and another service ace by Hodges.
The final set was 27-26 in favor of the Lobos with both teams battling back and forth. Bryant then had two consecutive kills, making it match point for the Texans at 28-27. The win was capped off by an ace from Ansquer. This series of fantastic runs helped the Texans notch their first win of the season.
The Texans outhit the Lobos .180 to .174, tacking on 54 kills as opposed to New Mexico's 49 kills. The Texans also had eight service aces compared to the Lobo's four aces.
The Texans will look to build off of their first win of the season when they play Northern Arizona at 2 p.m. CT. Fans can follow live stats here, or watch on ESPN+ here.