STEPHENVILLE-The Tarleton TexAnn volleyball team will open the 2008 campaign against Western New Mexico Friday, Aug. 29 on the first day of the Alamo City Classic hosted by Incarnate Word and Trinity University. First serve is set for 2:30 p.m. at McDermott Convocation Center in San Antonio. Tarleton will then play Trinity at the Bell Athletic Center at 7:30 p.m.
The tournament concludes Saturday, Aug. 30 with the TexAnns facing Southwest Baptist at 1:30 p.m. and Incarnate Word at 4 p.m. Both matches will be played inside McDermott Convocation Center on Saturday.
The McDermott Convocation Center is on the UIW campus and the Bell Athletic Center is located on the Trinity Campus.
TexAnn head coach Mary Domine Schindler returns 11 letterwinners - including starters Missy Castro (Sr., 5-10, OH), Allison Hill (Sr., 5-9, OH), Emily Richardson (Sr., 6-0, MB), Shay Gracy (Sr., 6-0, MB) and Shea McBrearty (So., 5-8, L) - from last year's team that went 14-16 and advanced to the Lone Star Conference Tournament for the second straight year.
QUICK HITS
? Season opener history: The TexAnns are 2-1 in season openers under Domine Schindler since she was hired in 2005. Tarleton has won three of it's past four season openers including last season's win against Alabama-Huntsville (3-0). The TexAnns are 7-7 in home openers since joining the LSC and are 14-13 overall.
? Coaching Victory Milestones: TexAnn coach Mary Domine Schindler needs seven victories to reach her 50th career victory. She is in her third season as TexAnn head coach and comes into this season with an overall record of 43-48.
? TexAnns picked eighth: Tarleton is picked to place eighth in the competitive Lone Star Conference, according to a poll of the league's head coaches, sports information directors and various media outlets. Defending champion West Texas A&M is picked to repeat as the conference champion after receiving 35 of 37 first-place votes and 515 total points.
Central Oklahoma, which received one first-place vote and 448 points, is picked to finish second, followed by Midwestern State which received the final first-place vote and 446 points.
Abilene Christian (397), Texas Woman's (339), Texas A&M-Kingsville (305) and Cameron (279) all finalize the top seven spots in front of Tarleton. The TexAnns received 272 total points.
Angelo State (208), Southwestern Oklahoma (189), Southeastern Oklahoma (166), Texas A&M-Commerce (159), Eastern New Mexico (93) and East Central (69) round out the poll.
OPPONENT NOTES
Western New Mexico returns six letterwinners, including four starters, from last year's team that went 17-12 overall and 12-7 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Mustangs, who finished last season second in the RMAC West Division, are picked to finish in a first-place tie with Fort Lewis in the same division, according to a preseason poll.
Trinity returns 11 letterwinners, including four starters from the 2007 squad that went 35-3 overall and 15-0 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Tigers advanced to the NCAA Division III South Regional before falling to Emory in the championship game.
Southwest Baptist returns 12 letterwinners and all six starters from a team that went 8-24 overall and 2-11 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The Bearcats finished fifth in the MIAA east division.
Incarnate Word returns six letterwinners and four starters from last year's team that went 23-9 overall and 12-2 in the Heartland Conference. The Cardinals finished first in their conference last season and the team has been picked to defend it's crown, according to a preseason poll.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Western New Mexico owns a 7-0 lead in the all-time series against Tarleton, including a 4-0 mark against the TexAnns at neutral sites. The Mustangs won the last contest in three sets at the Cameron Coca-Cola Classic back on Sept. 13, 2003 in Lawton, Okla.
Trinity owns a 10-4 record against Tarleton after winning the last three contests. The Tigers defeated the TexAnns last season, 3-2, in San Antonio on Sept. 1, 2007. The TexAnns are 0-3 against the Tigers all-time at Bell Athletic Center.
Incarnate Word is 14-8 all-time against Tarleton, having won the past two contests and 12 of the past 14. The Cardinals and TexAnns last met on Sept. 8 last season in the ACU Classic in Abilene. UIW took the match three sets to one. The TexAnns are just 1-6 against the Cardinals inside the McDermott Center.
Tarleton and Southwest Baptist will be meeting for the first time.
TEXANNS IN TOURNAMENT PLAY
Tarleton has a record of 21-18 during in-season tournaments since 2004, including four wins in seven matches last season.
This will be the second consecutive Alamo City Classic for the TexAnns. Tarleton went 1-2 in last season's classic, collecting it's lone win over Texas A&M-International (3-0).
LSC HONOREES RETURN
The TexAnns bring back three Lone Star Conference award winners from last season. Missy Castro was named first-team all-LSC while teammate Emily Richardson was named second-team all-LSC. Shay Gracy was all-LSC honorable mention.
RECORD WATCH
Missy Castro needs 182 kills to become fifth all-time in school history for career kills. She heads into this weekends matches with 1,012 career kills. Her 2,794 career attacks is good enough for sixth all-time. She will need 41 more attacks to break the top five. Castro will need 117 more digs to break the top five career leaders list. Castro already ranks second all-time with 178 service aces, needing just 47 more to take the top spot.
RECORD BREAKING SEASON
Tarleton set a new school record in assists last season averaging 13.25 assists per game, breaking the old mark of 12.98.
Former TexAnn, Alisha Bourgo, set new individual season marks last season. She collected 426 digs which is good for fourth best and posted a 3.91 digs per game average, also good for fourth best.
Shay Gracy's 83 total blocks was the sixth best individual performance for total blocks in a season.
Emily Richardson is now third all-time in career hitting percentage with a .275 percentage.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
The TexAnns hit the road again next weekend to participate in the Texas A&M-International Border Olympics Invitational, Sept. 5-6, in Laredo. Tarleton faces North Dakota on Friday at 11 a.m. and Texas-Brownsville at 3 p.m. The TexAnns will then face tournament host, Texas A&M-International, on Saturday at noon.
Tarleton will then hit the road for one more match against Southern Arkansas in Magnolia, Ark. before hosting the Tarleton Invitational on Sept. 12-13.
The TexAnns will begin Lone Star Conference play on Thursday, Sept. 18 against Abilene Christian in Stephenville.
