Texas State rallies to defeat Ragin' Cajuns

The last time Texas State was down 2-0, it didn’t end well for UT-Arlington.

The Bobcats leaned on an 18-kill performance from freshman outside hitter Sarabi Worsley-Gilbert to win three-straight sets and take a 3-2, come-from-behind victory over the Mavericks at home on Oct. 2.

Texas State pulled off the feat again on Friday, rallying to defeat Louisiana inside Strahan Arena, 3-2 (19-25, 22-25, 25-19, 25-20, 15-7).

The team began the match even-keel with the Ragin’ Cajuns. The Bobcats split the first six points, but then gave up the next four, falling behind 7-3. Texas State manage to pull back within one point of tying the set at 17-16, but Louisiana pulled away and took the frame, 25-19.

The Ragin’ Cajuns had to pull off a comeback of their own to take the next game. The two teams went back and forth most of the way as the Bobcats built a slight 14-11 lead. From there, Louisiana used a 6-1 run to swing the scoreboard back in their favor and never looked back, taking the set 25-22.

Texas State kept pushing, though. After staying tied 5-5 early in the third frame, junior outside hitter Cheyenne Huskey scored a kill on an assist by freshman setter Emily DeWalt. The Bobcats never relinquished the lead, going ahead 22-12 and wrapping things up at 25-19.

Louisiana wouldn’t go down easy. The Ragin’ Cajuns were neck-and-neck with Texas State in the fourth set, trailing just 10-8. But the Bobcats used three kills from Worsely-Gilbert to spur a 5-0 run, pulling ahead by seven points. Louisiana never recovered, falling 25-20.

With the match tied 2-2, Texas State needed 15 points to keep its win streak alive. The Bobcats made sure to set the tone early, jumping out to 5-2 lead. Freshman outside hitter Janell Fitzgerald scored a kill two plays later, and from there the team never led by less than three points. Texas State took the set, 15-7, and the match, 3-2.

Huskey and Fitzgerald both picked up 14 kills during the win, tied for the team-high. Worsley-Gilbert also chipped in with 13 kills of her own. DeWalt also clinched a double-double with 51 assists and 18 digs.

The comeback marks the Bobcats’ 16th-straight victory, the third-longest win streak in school history and the longest since 2000.

Texas State (21-5, 12-0 Sun Belt) will look to secure a share of the conference regular-season championship when it hosts Louisiana-Monroe (9-15, 2-9) on Sunday inside Strahan Arena at 12 p.m.