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Kenedi Rutherford played Thursday’s match off as just another game.
Sure, it was against the school she transferred from — Texas State’s rival UTSA. But the former Roadrunner was focused on the task at hand. The sophomore outside hitter helped the Bobcats dismantle UTSA, 3-1 (25-21, 24-26, 25-21-25-20), with 11 kills and three blocks on Thursday in front of a crowd of 1,782 at the Creeds & Crests Classic inside Strahan Arena.
“The dynamics on our team is great,” Rutherford said. “And you know, I just approached it as another game, and every win is a win and it feels good to win.”
Texas State (6-5) returned to San Marcos for its first home match in 16 days. The Bobcats struggled early in the opening set against UTSA (6-5).
Texas State fell behind 8-3 before the Bobcats called their first timeout. Texas State chipped away at Roadrunner advantage, eventually catching UTSA at 20-20. The Bobcats pulled away late in the set to take the opening frame, 25-21.
The second set went back and forth until Texas State took the lead and extended it to 14-8. But UTSA answered with a 6-0 run to even the score. Both teams battled throughout the period but the Roadrunners evened the match with a 26-24 second-set victory.
Texas State and UTSA traded points to begin the third set. After falling behind 12-11, the Bobcats took control, leading to a 25-21 third-set win to take a 2-1 match advantage.
The Roadrunners grabbed a quick 7-3 lead in the fourth set. But much like the first set, Texas State settled in and began working its way back into the frame. The Bobcats caught UTSA at 11-11. After the period was knotted at 14-all, Texas State pulled away — outscoring the Roadrunners, 11-6 — to secure the 3-1 victory.
“That was scrappy. Anytime UTSA and Texas State get into a volleyball match, you’re going to see something like that," head coach Karen Chisum said. “It’s fun … I’m extremely proud of the grit that we showed in every game.”
Redshirt freshman Lauren Teske paced the Bobcats with 13 kills. Rutherford added 11 kills, while senior outside hitter Cheyenne Huskey tallied 10 kills and a team-high 16 digs. Sophomore setter Emily DeWalt amassed a match-high 41 assists.
“Kenedi did a great job stepping in,” Chisum said. “One of us was just telling them, what’s kind of fun is Teske, Jill Slaughter, Emily (DeWalt) — all San Antonio kids — played with and against a lot of those kids over there — so there were some personal grudges. A little bit more incentive to them, competitiveness. Extremely proud of these kids. This was fun.”
Texas State returns to action against George Washington on Friday at 7 p.m. Rutherford said the Bobcats believe they can win their host tournament following Thursday’s victory.
“Going into the tournament, I think we can’t win the tournament without the first win,” Rutherford said. “So, this one just set the standard for the rest of the weekend.”
