Bobcats bounce Trojans in Sun Belt semifinals

Texas State head coach Karen Chisum was worried about the week off.

A sweep over UT Arlington in the regular season finale earned the Bobcats the outright Sun Belt title, the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, a two-round bye — and eight days without a game. Chisum thought the extra days off might lead to some rust in the postseason.

“We've got to keep them sharp,” Chisum said of her players after defeating the Mavericks.

The head coach let the team rest on Saturday and Sunday and held a light one-hour practice on Monday. At each of the following practices, Texas State began with a “3-4-5” drill. The Bobcats break off into different squads, then play each other three-on-three, four-on-four, five-on-five and eventually six-on-six.

“They were so competitive in that drill. We do it first collaborative where you're trying to hit to each other, keep the ball control. And then we go battle,” Chisum said. “And when they went battle, I'm telling you, they went battle. They almost scared me for a while. But they were ready.”

The maroon and gold showed no signs of rust on Saturday, as they swept No. 4 seed Troy, 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-18) in the league semifinals in front of a Strahan Arena crowd of 2,782.

Texas State (23-8, 14-2 Sun Belt) started the match on a 7-0 run, four points coming from rejections by junior middle blocker Tyeranee Scott. The hosts extended the lead to double digits on an attacking error by the Trojans (22-9, 10-6), going up 13-3, and led by less than nine the rest of the way. Scott finished the frame with six blocks as the visitors were held to a -.152 hitting percentage and dropped the first frame, 25-14.

“I think that we really feed off of the crowd a lot,” Scott said. “And I feel like one of the main things that gets us going as our defense. Like when our defense is on, I feel like we're just unstoppable.”

The Bobcats continued putting pressure on Troy at net, as the Trojans’ hitting percentage only moved up to .071 in the second set. Texas State took set two, 25-14, but struggled to keep the momentum going in the final game.

Troy held a 12-7 lead before Texas State called its first timeout. But kills from outside hitters Cheyenne Huskey, Janell Fitzgerald and Caitlan Buettner helped the hosts work their way back into it, as the Bobcats tied it back up at 17-17.

Sophomore setter Emily DeWalt and middle blocker Jillian Slaughter — who was playing in her first game since suffering a concussion on Nov. 1 — blocked the final two shots by the Trojans to take the third set, 25-18, and the match, 3-0.

“It starts on the outside. So when our outside blockers set it pretty well, our middles can get out there and close to them,” Chisum said. “When (Fitzgerald) sets it and Emily sets the block, Tyeranee … can really go out there and close it.”

The team finished with a season-high 15 total blocks. Scott swatted a personal-best 10 blocks, followed by DeWalt with a career-record nine. Huskey led the team with 13 kills, followed by Fitzgerald with 10.

Texas State will compete in the Sun Belt Championship match on Sunday at 12 p.m. The Bobcats will face the winner of No. 2 seed Coastal Carolina (23-5, 13-3) and No. 7 seed UT Arlington (18-12, 8-8), who played Saturday night at 5 p.m.

Chisum said the whole team planned to watch the match closely to get a better read on their opponents.

“UTA it's really played well this weekend, so it's going to be a battle, no matter who we play,” Chisum said. “We will be ready and prepared for whichever one. That one, I will promise you.”