Bobcats claim 3-1 win over Troy after rain delay on Friday

Texas State downed Troy on Friday night.

The Bobcats pulled out a 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-19, 25-20) win over the Trojans inside Strahan Arena. Texas State had to weather a rain delay after a thunderstorm caused rain to fall onto the court.

“I’ve never had a rain delay in volleyball, so that was a crazy moment,” head coach Sean Huiet said. “When the lights flickered, I got really worried, because I knew a storm was rolling in. But yeah, we were talking through everything: going to the practice gym, us switching sides and putting us on the side where it was leaking, but we didn’t want to wait 30 minutes, which was the end all. I’m glad we didn’t have to do that and were able to finish the match.”

With Texas State leading 10-7 in the fourth set of its four-set win over Trojans, water droplets broke through the ceiling of Strahan Arena as a heavy storm cell passed through the San Marcos arena at 7:41 p.m. The droplets landed in the back corner of the Trojans side of the court, causing a break in the action.

Even with a seven-minute delay in the match, the Bobcats returned to the court and continued their march towards their 16th straight win over Troy. As a result of the match, Texas State clinched the top seed out of the Sun Belt Conference’s West Division for the league’s upcoming postseason conference tournament in Foley, Ala.

Despite Troy making several strong attempts to rally during the fourth set and even tying the set at 13-13 and 17-17, the Bobcats never allowed the Trojans to take the lead as Texas State reeled off eight of the next 11 points to close out the match.

“I think just trying to stay focused (during the delay) was the hardest thing, obviously not knowing what was going to happen,” graduate student setter Emily DeWalt said. “Coming out, we lost some points there, but we were just trying to stay focused and stay warm.”

Above, four Texas State seniors Jade Gardner,Tessa Marshall, Janell Fitzgerald and Jillian Slaughter celebrate after earning a point during the Bobcats’ win over Troy on Friday. Daily Record photo by Gerald Castillo

Texas State earned the top seed by virtue of winning 10 of its 11 matches against the league’s West Division with the Bobcats’ only blemish occurring on Saturday, Oct. 22, when South Alabama won in five sets in Mobile. Saturday’s match against Troy will mark the final regular-season match against a West Division foe for Texas State as the Bobcats wrap up the regular season this week on the road at Coastal Carolina.

Graduate student outside hitter Jade Garnder led Texas State with 14 kills and also tallied five blocks. DeWalt recorded a team-high 43 assists. Sophomore defensive specialist Jacqueline Lee led the Bobcats with 12 digs and three service aces.

Texas State (19-6, 11-2 Sun Belt) played the second match of the season against Troy (16-9, 10-3) on Saturday. The match began after press time. For full coverage see sanmarcosrecord.com.

Information from Texas State Athletics included in this article.