Texas State secures win over Rice in five-set thriller

Texas State escaped Tudor Fieldhouse with a 3-2 (25-22. 25-23, 20-25 16-25, 15-9) win over Rice on Tuesday. 

The Bobcats (5-3) and the Owls (5-2) began Tuesday’s five-set thriller with a tight first set. Neither squad held a lead larger than three. Rice held an 18-17 lead, but Texas State fought back to take a 23-20 advantage. The Bobcats won the set 25-22 to take a 1-0 match lead. 

The second set was another close affair. The frame was even at 10-10, but Rice used a 4-1 run to grab a 15-11 advantage. But Texas State fought back to tie the set at 17-17. The Bobcats jumped out to a 20-17 advantage. Rice, however, evened the set at 20-20. The set went back-and-forth. With the match tied at 23-23, Texas State was able to close out the set with a 25-23 victory. 

Rice cut the Bobcat match advantage down to 2-1 by taking the third set 25-20. 

The Owls gained momentum in the fourth set after they stole Texas State’s 9-6 lead and turned it into a 11-9 advantage. 

With the frame at a 13-13 draw, Rice went on a 12-3 run to take the fourth set at 25-16 and force a fifth set. 

The Bobcats jumped out to a 3-1 lead early in the decisive fifth set. But Rice used a strong run to take an 8-4 advantage. But Texas State used an 11-1 run to close out the set 15-9 to win the match. 

The Bobcats are now on a five-match winning streak. Three Bobcats recorded double-doubles in the win. Senior outside hitter Amy Pflughaupt led the team with 18 kills and 15 digs. Junior setter Cheyenne Huskey added 17 kills and 15 digs. Freshman setter Emily DeWalt tallied 55 assists, 13 digs and a match-high six blocks. Junior libero/defensive specialist Micah Dinwiddie amassed a match-high 34 digs, while sophomore setter Brooke Johnson had 11 digs. 

Texas State continues a challenging week on Thursday when it travels to Austin to take on No. 6 Texas at 7 p.m. inside Gregory Gym.