Tarleton State Volleyball continues non-conference slate in St. Paul starting Thursday

The Texans begin the Tommie Invitational Volleyball Tournament by facing host school St. Thomas at 7 p.m. Thursday. Fans can watch Thursday's match live on The Summit League Network.

Tarleton State will continue action on Friday with a neutral site match against Northern Illinois at 3:30 p.m. The Texans wrap up play in St. Paul at 11 a.m. on Saturday against Valparaiso. No video stream will be available for Friday and Saturday, but fans can follow the action through live stats and through Tarleton State Volleyball's social media accounts.

At Tarleton State's opening tournament in Commerce, Texas, senior outside hitter was named to the Lion Invitational All-Tournament Team. Bryant tied or led the team in kills in each match, totaling 41 last weekend.

Junior setter also inked her place in the Tarleton State Volleyball record book. The Celina, Texas, native set a new program record for assists in a single match in the Division I Era, collecting 48 on Aug. 30 against Arkansas Little Rock.
Junior middle blocker Emma Burke became the first Texan to earn a WAC preseason honor. The Godley, Texas, native was named to the Preseason All-WAC team, a year after earning a Second Team All-WAC selection in 2023. Burke led the team in blocks and service aces while also ranking in the top four on the team in kills last season.
Sophomore middle blocker Madison Frank also earned an All-WAC honor after last season, earning a spot on the Freshman All-WAC Team. The freshman tallied 59 blocks and 122 kills in her debut season.
Last year, the Texans earned their first berth to the WAC Tournament. After securing their bid with a win at Abilene Christian, the Texans traveled to Utah Valley as the sixth overall seed. In their first match of the tournament, Tarleton State found themselves pitted against the third-seeded UTRGV Vaqueros in the quarterfinals. The Texans dropped a five-set heartbreaker to end their season 16-15, the most wins in the D1 era.
This year, Tarleton State was picked to finish fifth in the WAC preseason poll. The Texans finished fifth last season after being selected to finish ninth in the preseason poll.
The Texans will start the season with nine consecutive road contests. Tarleton State will play three-straight road tournaments before hosting their final non-conference tournament before the regular season. Last year, the Texans played their first four games at home.
Head coach ranks in the top 50 among active Division 1 coaches in wins and is one of 24 active Division I coaches to have coached at least 20 seasons at her current and only school in her career.

St. Thomas will play its first home match of the 2024 season against Tarleton State on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Tommies are also seeking their first win of the season after losing all three of its matches in the CEFCU Invitational last week.

Northern Illinois will also be looking for its first win of the season in St. Paul, falling short in both of its matches in the Huskie Invitational last week. Valparaiso enters the Tommie Invitational Tournament 2-1 after defeating SIUE in five sets and sweeping IU Indianapolis 3-0.