‘Cats earn series sweep at Louisiana, take weekly Sun Belt honors

Texas State, which received votes in last week’s American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll, took a series sweep over No. 15 Louisiana on the road over the weekend to remain unbeaten in Sun Belt play.

The Bobcats (11-1, 6-0 Sun Belt) began the series with a 3-0 (25-11, 25-21, 25-14) victory over the Ragin’ Cajuns (11-3, 5-3) Friday morning. Junior outside hitter Kenedi Rutherford and senior middle blocker Tyeranee Scott posted a team-high 12 kills each, followed by redshirt sophomore outside hitter Lauren Teske with 10. Junior setter Emily DeWalt dished out 42 assists. Junior libero Kayla Granado notched 10 digs. Scott also added a team-high four blocks.

The visitors followed it up with their closest match of the series, taking a 3-2 (14-25, 18-25, 25-20, 25-15, 25-10) win over Louisiana. Texas State was fueled by junior outside hitter Janell Fitzgerald on offense, who picked the Ragin’ Cajun defense apart for a career-high 24 kills with a .320 attacking percentage. Granado, DeWalt, Teske and senior defensive specialist Brooke Johnson all earned double-digit digs, Granado leading the way with 21. DeWalt passed for another 49 assists in the win.

The maroon and gold ended the weekend with another 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 26-24) sweep over the hosts on Saturday. Fitzgerald and Scott led the way for the Bobcats again with 11 kills each. Fitzgerald also added a team-best four blocks. DeWalt garnered a double-double with 41 assists and 15 digs. Teske was one kill shy of a double-double with nine kills and 12 digs.

“Overall, I cannot say enough about my staff and how they had the team ready,” head coach Sean Huiet said in a statement. “As much as we did not enjoy being off from competition, the time to prepare for this weekend was great. So many players stepped up, but my game ball winner is Kenedi Rutherford for how she stepped right in for (sophomore outside hitter) Caitlan Buettner. We have a lot of depth and trust that anyone can be on the court and our goals be unshaken. This weekend proved that.”

Fitzgerald was named the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday after averaging 3.82 kills per set through the three wins. It’s the first time Fitzgerald won the award since the 2018 season and third time overall. She also becomes the third player from Texas State to earn the award this year.

DeWalt also picked up conference Setter of the Week honors after averaging 12 assists per set and cracking 40 or more assists in all three matches. It’s DeWalt’s third time being tabbed for the award in 2020 and 12th time of her career.

Texas State will return home for a three-match series with Little Rock (1-8, 1-7) inside Strahan Arena this weekend, beginning on Friday at 11 a.m.