SAN ANGELO, Texas – The Newman volleyball team started the season 0-2 today (Sept. 4) at the Angelo State Tournament. The Jets lost to Western New Mexico State, 3-1, in the opening match this morning, and then they fell, 3-1, to Tarleton State in the nightcap.
 
WNMU 3, NU 1
 
NU split with Western New Mexico in the first two sets, but then the Mustangs won the final two to pick up a 3-1 victory. In the first set, WNMU pulled away for a 25-16 win. The Jets struggled in the first set, totaling only thee kills and hitting -.276. NU had 11 errors in 29 attempts.
 
In the second set, they bounced back to hit .196 with 15 kills, the best hitting numbers of the match. The offensive improvement helped the Jets get a 25-20 win in the second set.
 
The Jets held an early 8-3 advantage in the third set. With NU still up by the score of 11-8, the Mustangs tallied four straight points to get a 12-11 lead. The set remained close with the score tied at 20-20 until a 4-0 run by WNMU allowed them to pick up a 25-21 win.
 
In the fourth set, NU seemed to control the play early and held a 23-20 advantage late in the set. The Mustangs, however, used another 4-0 run to go up 24-23. After a NU kill tied the score at 24-24, WNMU got back-to-back points to win 26-24 and close out the match.
 
For the match, the Jets hit only .055 with 43 kills and 33 errors.
 
WNMU hit .170 with 50 kills and 20 errors on 176 attempts.
 
Turner totaled a double-double of 11 kills and 11 digs. Harvey added eight kills, and Hageman finished with seven kills. Buana hit .308 with five kills on only 13 attempts. Alexus Litts tallied 29 assists, and Anna Burton went for 30 digs.
 
TSU 3, NU 1
 
In the second match of the day, NU once again struggled to start, hitting -.069 with only seven kills in the opening set. Tarleton pulled out to a 25-13 win. TSU hit .500 in the first set.
 
The Jets improved to hit .026 in the second set with 12 kills, but TSU made only three errors and hit .257 to win set two, 25-18.
 
The Jets battled back to win set three, 25-21, to stay in the match. NU hit a set-best .176 with only six errors. They capitalized on eight TSU errors to get the set win.
 
Tarleton State hit an incredible .480 in the final set to get a 25-17 win in the set. The Jets couldn't get anything going in the final set, committing eight errors and totaling six kills. For the second time, NU hit negative at -.059.
 
For the match, the Jets totaled 37 kills with 34 errors for a .022 hitting percentage. Tarleton finished with 55 kills and 16 errors for a .322 hitting percentage.
 
Senior Ashley Gonzalez led the Jets with 10 kills on 20 attempts. She hit .300. Kayla Turner added nine kills and eight digs. Alexus Litts finished with 31 assists, and Anna Burton led NU with 10 digs.
 
Tarleton's Hailey Roberts had a double-double of 23 kills and 10 digs.
 
NU returns to action tomorrow with two more matches. At 12 p.m., the Jets take on Chadron State, and the tournament ends with a match against host Angelo State at 6 p.m.