STEPHENVILLE, TEXAS – The Newman volleyball team drops two matches to Lone Star teams Tarleton State and Angelo State on Saturday (Oct. 4) at Wisdom Volleyball Gym. The Lady Jets dropped to 6-9 on the season.
Angelo State 3, Newman 1
The Lady Jets started the day with a four set loss to Angelo State. NU won set one, 25-21, but ASU won the next three to win the match. The Lady Jets built an early lead in set one, going up 10-6 on a
Gaylynn Jones kill. After the Belles cut the deficit to one at 15-14, NU responded to push out to a 22-17 advantage on an
Alexis Roecker kill. NU went on a 4-1 run to build the lead. NU closed out the set for a 25-21 win.
It was all ASU to start set two as the Belles scored the first five points. The Lady Jets slowly pulled closer and trailed by only one, 12-11, on a
Jarin Braithwait kill. A 9-2 ASU run followed as the Belles went up 21-13. ASU went on to win set two 25-18.
In a back-and-forth third set, ASU managed to sneak out a 28-26 victory. ASU had set point at 24-23 after a Zoey Hanrahan kill; however, NU scored the next two points to hold a 25-24 edge. ASU stayed alive with a kill for a 25-25 score then after NU once again had set point at 26-25, the Belles scored three-straight points for the set three win.
ASU carried the momentum into the four set, pulling out to a 10-4 lead and forcing NU into a timeout. The Belle pushed the advantage to 10, 23-13, with a 4-0 run and the margin held as ASU won set four, 25-15, and the match 3-1.
ASU's Mallory Blauser had an outstanding match, hitting .509 with a match-high 29 kills on 55 attempts. She added four blocks. She was the only Belle in double digits for kills. ASU hit .251 in the match, including .405 in the fourth set.
Braithwait and Boecker led NU with 11 kills. Roecker totaled a double-double adding 12 digs.
Lexi Kuharich tallied 22 assists, a NU high, and
Anna Burton finished with 19 digs.
Tarleton State 3, Newman 2
After falling behind 2-0 to TSU, NU forced a fifth set with back-to-back set wins, but couldn't hang close out the match, falling 3-2 to TSU.
The Lady Jets lost set one, 25-22, and set two, 25-23. The third set was very close, and with the score tied at 23-23, NU got some help from the TexAnns as they had back-to-back errors to give NU a 25-23 win.
In the fourth set, NU led early, building a 12-4 advantage. TSU scored three straight points, but the Lady Jets then went on a 4-0 run, highlighted by a Burton service ace. TSU called a timeout after the ace and trailing 16-7. The TexAnns cut the deficit to two at 23-21, but NU held on for the 25-21 set four win.
TSU controlled the fifth set, winning 15-8. The TexAnns started on an 8-4 run. With the score at 9-6, TSU went on a 4-0 run to force NU into a timeout at 13-6. TSU put the match away, 15-8.
Roecker again totaled a double-double with a team-high 13 kills and 11 digs. Jones also finished with a double-double of 11 kills and 14 digs. Kuharich tallied a team-high 20 assists and added 11 digs for a double-double. Burton dug up a team-high 18 balls. She also had three service aces.
Hailey Roberts of TSU totaled a match-high 23 kills. Three other TexAnn players hit double digits in kills.
The Lady Jets travel to UAFS on Thursday (Oct. 9) to face the Lions at 7 p.m. at Stubblefield Center in Fort Smith, Ark.
