THE RUNDOWN
STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Midwestern State split results on the final day of the Tarleton Invitational to open the season 2-2. The Mustangs swept through Black Hills State in three tightly-contested sets (27-25, 26-24, 25-21) before running into a buzz saw in Harding (12-25, 12-25, 18-25).
 
MATCH ONE – MSU TEXAS 3, BHSU 0
A huge late run in the first set propelled the Maroon and Gold to a sweep over Black Hills State in the day's opener (27-25, 26-24, 25-21). The Mustangs served up 12 aces to hand the Yellow Jackets their third-straight loss.
 
Redshirt freshman Addy Cook once again led the team with nine kills while sophomore Raven Presley tacked on eight more. Junior Sarah Eakin posted the most efficient outing of her career, knocking down five kills on seven swings for a .714 hitting percentage. Sophomore Sarah Glawe handed out 18 assists while junior Erin Richburg and freshman Samantha Manio snuffed out nine and eight attack attempts, respectively.
 
The Mustangs overcame 10 first set attack errors and rallied from a 23-16 deficit to stun the Yellow Jackets in the opener. During the 11-2 run to claim the 1-0 lead, Kristin Silva had a pair of aces, Raven Presley had a pair of kills and BHSU committed four attack errors to give MSU Texas the lead.
 
Riding the momentum, the Mustangs stretched the advantage to 2-0 as Cook, Eakin and Richburg recorded 12 of MSU Texas' 14 kills in the second set.
 
MSU Texas capitalized on 14 errors by BHSU in the final set to pick up its second-straight victory.
 
The Yellow Jackets were led by Sierra Stugelmeyer who hit .471 with nine kills.
 
MATCH TWO – HU 3, MSU TEXAS 0
The Mustangs were not as lucky in the final match of the tournament as Harding proved too much for MSU Texas.
 
A combined 20 errors in the first two sets was the deciding factor early. The Maroon and Gold were led by Cook with 11 kills, but only hit .020 as a team.
 
Harding closed the first set on a 16-4 run before a 14-1 run early in the second doomed the Mustangs.
 
Eventually, MSU Texas made some headway on the Bison in the third as Cook picked up five of her 11 kills in the match. The Mustangs hit .250 in the frame, but Harding hit at a .419 clip.
 
Zoe Hardin and Amber Robin led HU with nine kills apiece.
 
MATCH ONE NOTES
- MSU Texas rallied from a 23-16 deficit in the first set to win 27-25 and turn the momentum of the match
- The Mustangs dropped in a season-high 12 aces, the second-most by MSU Texas in the last two seasons
- Redshirt freshman Addy Cook led the Mustangs offensively for the third-straight match, posting nine kills and matched a career high with three service aces
- Junior Sarah Eakin had the most efficient outing in her career, hitting .714 with five kills on seven swings
 
MATCH TWO NOTES
- Midwestern State was plagued by a pair of big runs in a 3-0 setback to Harding in the finale at the TSU Invitational
- The Bison closed the first set on a 16-4 run after MSU Texas had pulled within one at 9-8
- HU manufactured a 14-1 run early in the second with the match tied at four-all to pull away
- Cook led all players with 11 kills
- Sophomore Sarah Glawe produced a team-high 15 assists and seven digs
 
UP NEXT
MSU Texas is back in action Friday, Aug. 31 as the Mustangs travel north for the Nebraska-Kearney Invitational. MSU Texas takes on Newman and UNK on Friday and South Dakota Mines and Minot State on Saturday.