TXST VOLLEYBALL
Texas State is back in the NCAA Tournament where the Bobcats will make the trip up to Dallas for the SMU regional to battle the No. 7 seed Missouri Tigers in the first round.
While the Bobcats are excited to play in their second consecutive NCAA Tournament after winning the Sun Belt Conference tournament, the chance to play away from Austin for the tournament where Texas State normally has been selected too has added a new excitement for the team, including senior setter Ryann Torres.
“It’s cool to play in a new environment,” Torres said. “It will feel like an actual business trip because we’re driving and traveling somewhere within distance. It’s gonna be a good experience playing in the SMU gym. They’ve been extremely relevant within this past year, and their gym has been known. It’s gonna be a wonderful experience.”
Head Coach Sean Huiet rested well knowing that the Bobcats were automatically in the tournament but still wanted to know where the Bobcats were going to play.
“I did sleep a little bit easier than before, knowing that we were in there,” Huiet said. “But [I was] still anxious about where we would go and who we would play with. We have been in Austin ever since; It’s been regionalized for so long. Knowing that hopefully SMU and Baylor were hosting, we had our hopes that we could maybe go somewhere else.”
While the Bobcats always enjoy playing close to home for the NCAA Tournament, having to travel just a little bit further for the tournament is still a big deal for the Bobcats.
“It’s just for the kids, and I love playing with Gregory. It’s a great gym,” Huiet said. “But it’s the experience and you’re in the NCAA tournament. Just going 20 minutes up the road is so different from going somewhere else. So, I’m really excited for them. I think it will have more of a NCAA Tournament feel for them and we were fired up to get there and compete.”
But not only do the Bobcats have a chance to play somewhere else, Texas State also has an opportunity to win their first NCAA tournament since 2020 and just for the third time in program history against the Tigers.
For Huiet, the moment the Bobcats have built late in the season has the team ready to compete with anyone in the country.
“Missouri is a very good team, but I think they’re also beatable,” Huiet said. “The way we’ve been serving and playing defense, we can compete with anyone in the country., Our serve pass game is on, we’re gonna go out there and do what we know how to do.”
Having played on two NCAA tournament teams, Torres also believes the Bobcats have the chance to pull off the first round win seeing how tough Texas State has played as well as strong team chemistry.
“We have a very gritty team this season.,” Torres said. “Each of us has our different personality during gameplay. Taking all of our different personalities and meshing them together, playing with one another, they mesh really well. So getting to see that in play at the NCAA tournament, is very cool to see.”
However the task will be not an easy one.
“They’re really good,” Huiet said. [Mya Sands] was libero of the year in the SEC so that’s a pretty tall task. We know they can dig a lot of balls. But they run through two pins.
They have a lefty just like [Samantha Wunsch] and then they have an outside that transferred from Oregon State, in Mychael Vernon.”
In strategizing for the Bobcats, the key for Huiet and the team is to stay aggressive and keep Missouri from finding a rhythm on offense.
“If we can get them out of the system and we serve well, contain their middles, [we have a shot],” Huiet said. “We wanna serve aggressively and take that out of there, take that out of their offense and kind of slow them down a little bit. … We’re gonna try to set the tone with our serving and our blocking early.”
Another factor for Huiet that the Bobcats will look to take advantage of is Texas State’s strong team chemistry.
“At this point, we know it’s lose or go home,” Huiet said. “The thing I love about this group is Ortega and Ryan don’t want to be done, and when you have two seniors that don’t wanna be done playing, everyone’s competing for them.”
cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc
The Bobcats will look to stay aggressive and use their team chemistry to battle Missouri in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Texas State is looking for their first win in the tournament since 2020. Daily Record photo by Gerald Castillo
