TXST VOLLEYBALL
The Bobcats defeated the UTRGV Vaqueros 31 [20-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-20] in the opening game of the Southwest Showdown held on the campus of UTRGV.
Texas State improves to 2-1 overall while UTRGV falls to 1-3.
In the first set, Texas State and UTRGV went back and forth before being tied up at 6-6. The Vaqueros then went on a 5-1 run to take an 11-7 lead.
Though the Bobcats attempted to battle back, the early deficit wasn’t enough to overcome as Texas State dropped the first set at 25-20.
Both the Bobcats and the Vaqueros battled back and forth in the second set, trading points before being tied up at 10-10.
Texas State went on a 41 run only for UTRGV to score two straight points as the Bobcats led the Vaqueros 14-13.
The Bobcats responded by going on a 5-0 run, capped off by a kill from senior Bailey Hanner to extend their lead to 1913.
Though UTRGV responded with a 4-0 run, it wasn’t enough as Texas State won the second set 25-20 following a kill from senior Samantha Wunsch.
In the third set, the Bobcats found themselves tied at 4-4 before going on a short 4-0 run to take a 8-4 lead following a kill from freshman Britton Finley.
The Vaqueros attempted to make another comeback in the critical set, Texas State slammed the door on their efforts, ending the set on a 4-0 run following a kill from Hanner to win the third set 25-17 and lead the match 2-1.
The fourth set saw UTRGV start the set on a 5-0 run, putting the Bobcats behind.
Texas State attempted to make their comeback but were turned away by UTRGV as the Bobcats found themselves down 13-9.
The Bobcats responded by going on their largest run of the match, outscoring the Vaqueros 6-1 to take their first lead of the set at 15-14.
UTRGV tied the Bobcats at 16-16 only for Texas State to go on a 5-0 run to take a commanding 21-16 lead.
The run was too much for UTRGV to overcome as Texas State won the fourth set 25-20 to win the match.
Wunsch led the team in kills with 20 followed by junior Brooke Bentke with 11 and Hanner with 10. Sophomore Anna Blaine led the team in assists with 43.
On defense, senior Alyssa Clark and Bentke led the team in digs with three while senior Jade Defraeye led the team in blocks with seven.
Texas State returns to play at the Southwest Showdown Friday against Texas A&M Corpus Christi before press time.
