Box vs TAMUC | Box vs TSU | Season stats

STEPHENVILLE, Texas -- On the final day of the Tarleton State TexAnn Invitational, the SBU volleyball Bearcats split their two matches, to finish the weekend with three wins and one loss. In the early match, the 'Cats swept Texas A&M-Commerce 3-0. In the evening contest, SBU dropped a tough one to the host school, falling in five sets to Tarleton State.

The Bearcats (5-3) roared out of the gates in the opener against Commerce, winning 25-13 behind a .727 attack percentage. SBU closed out the win, taking set two, 25-15, and set three, 25-17. Ashley Jurgensmeyer led the way with an astounding .909 hitting percentage and 10 kills. Britni Reed also had eight kills. Brianna Wallace had 31 assists while Marcy Greenwade had 16 digs.

SBU hit .382 in the three-set win, which easily surpassed the previous season high of .261 (Friday vs Midwestern State).

In the finale against Tarleton, SBU took the first set, 25-20, before Tarleton claimed the second, 25-22. In the third set, TSU led late 24-22, before a kill from Jurgensmeyer cut it to one. SBU's Reed served the final three points into attack errors by TSU to close out a 26-24 Bearcat win. Tarleton would rally to win the fourth set, 25-21, and the deciding set at 15-12.

Jurgensmeyer led the team against TSU with 20 kills and a .333 attack percentage. Kylie Heim added 12 kills while Reed and Joanna Granzow had 10 kills each. Wallace had 49 assists. The Bearcats had five players with double digit digs led by Iceley Perry with 16.

"I'm very proud of our effort this weekend," said head coach Kelly Richardson. "We showed a lot of heart and continued to push through. We had a hard fought match against a very good Tarleton State team. It was a great weekend for SBU volleyball. I'm so proud of how our girls represented the university."

The loss to Tarleton snapped a four-match winning streak, the longest for SBU since beginning 2002 with four straight wins.

A pair of SBU players earned All-Tournanment honors during the Texas trip. Jurgensmeyer led all players in the tournament with 55 kills for the weekend and had a .396 hitting percentage. Wallace led all setters with 162 assists, averaging 10.12 assists per game. Jurgensmeyer also earned All-Tourney honors last weekend at the Florida Southern Classic.

2010 Tarleton TexAnn Invitational All-Tournament Team
Irelis Ilarraza, Tarleton – Most Valuable Player
Ashley Jurgensmeyer, Southwest Baptist
Lauren Bayer, Midwestern State
Jamie Rodell, Texas-Permian Basin
Adrienne Lawson, Cameron
Stephanie Flores, St. Mary's
Brianna Wallace, Southwest Baptist
Jessie Hartman, Tarleton

Richardson added that her team learned about themselves during the tournament. "We saw what we need to work on, but also can take a lot from this weekend as we start conference this week."

The Bearcats open MIAA play on Wednesday night at Central Missouri, with action beginning at 7 p.m. in Warrensburg. SBU will have their home opener next Saturday afternoon September 18, when they host Nebraska-Omaha at 2 p.m.