Bobcats cruise past South Alabama for 14th-straight victory

The Bobcats kept their foot on the gas pedal.

Texas State cruised past South Alabama on the road with a 3-1 (25-19, 25-15, 21-25, 25-15) victory over the Jaguars. The win marked a milestone 14-straight for the Bobcats.

After going point-for-point in the opening of the first set, freshman outside hitter Janell Fitzgerald broke a 4-4 tie on a kill assisted by freshman setter Emily DeWalt. From there, junior libero Micah Dinwiddie served a 6-0 run to fuel a seven-point lead and Texas State coasted the rest of the way for a 25-19 win. 

The team raced out of the gates in the second frame to an early 11-3 lead. Dinwiddie and sophomore setter Brooke Johnson each served a 4-0 run, and senior middle blocker Madison Daigle and junior outside hitter Cheyenne Huskey swatted away three shots en route to a 25-15 victory.

The Bobcats seemed to run out of gas in the third game. Texas State fell behind 7-2 following a 5-0 run by South Alabama and never recovered. A kill from senior outside hitter Amy Pflughaupt brought the team back within two points at 15-13, but the Bobcats couldn’t manage to tie things back up. The Jaguars took the frame, 25-21.

The team got back up to speed in the fourth set. Texas State closed the game out on a 7-2 run with Fitzgerald and Huskey chipping in two kills each. The Bobcats won the frame, 25-15, and the match, 3-1.

Pflughaupt paced the team with 18 kills, followed by Fitzgerald with 13. DeWalt finished the night with 49 assists. The 14-match win streak is the school’s longest since 2004.

Texas State (19-5, 10-0 Sun Belt) hit the road again on Saturday to take on Troy (10-12, 4-5). A win would complete a sweep of the conference for the Bobcats. The match ended after press time.