Volleyball Knocks Off #13 James Madison Friday

Pflughaupt blasts 18 kills; DeWalt, Huskey each finish with double-doubles.

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team defeated James Madison 3-1 (25-14, 25-12, 16-25, 26-24) on the second day of the 2018 Creeds & Crests Classic Friday night inside Strahan Arena.

The Bobcats (2-3) have won both matches inside their newly-renovated home, while the Dukes (4-2) suffered just their second loss of the season. JMU entered play as the No. 13-ranked team in the VolleyballMag.com Mid-Major Poll and has competed in the NCAA Championship each of the past two years.

Senior Amy Pflughaupt paced the maroon and gold with an 18-kill effort that included just three errors on 36 swings for a .417 attack percentage.

Junior Cheyenne Huskey (11 kills, 11 digs) and true freshman Emily DeWalt (39 assists, ten digs) both notched double-doubles for the second night in a row, and true freshman Janell Fitzgerald tallied ten kills of her own. Junior Micah Dinwiddie led the night with 12 digs.

M’Kaela White powered the visiting offense with 13 kills, while Taylor Gail added ten kills. Sarah Martin distributed 36 assists, and Bryn Recker and Sarah Driscoll both tallied ten digs.

Texas State finished on top statistically in kills (50-43), attack percentage (.214-.106), assists (49-41), digs (59-45) and blocks (12-9). JMU led in aces (5-4).

SET 1

Texas State won the opening set by a commanding 25-14 margin to take charge early. The Bobcats broke a 7-7 stalemate with a 3-0 run and never trailed again. James Madison pulled within one at 11-10 and remained in close quarters at 15-12, but the home club rattled off a 10-2 run to earn the decisive set triumph. TXST hit .500 in the opening stanza and held the visitors to just a .081 attack percentage.

SET 2

The second verse was same as the first as the maroon and gold blew past their competitors to the tune of a 25-12 second-set win. The Dukes enjoyed a 6-5 lead in the opening moments but saw little success the rest of the way. A massive 13-2 run midway through the frame ballooned Texas State’s advantage to 18-8. After JMU scored twice to cut the deficit to 18-10, the Bobcats ventured on another 7-2 run to close out the set.

SET 3

The Dukes would not go down quietly on the night, as they got on the board with a 25-16 third-set victory. The visitors went ahead 5-4 and never trailed again. They maintained a consistent four-point lead most of the way until turning an 18-14 advantage into the final nine-point winning margin.

SET 4

Texas State went on a massive run late to make sure a decisive fifth set would not be necessary to determine the victor. James Madison initially powered into an 11-4 lead and did itself one better at 16-8. TXST slowly began to chip away at the deficit before eventually using a 6-1 run to edge ahead 22-21.

That marked the first time the maroon and gold peaked on top since they led 2-1. The Dukes had one set point at 24-23 that was blasted away by a Fitzgerald kill. Two consecutive attack errors on the next two points gave the Bobcats the set and match victory.

The meeting was the first between the two programs since 2004. Texas State is now 3-0 all-time against James Madison.

The Creeds & Crests Classic will conclude with three matches on the first day of September. The initial contest will feature the Dukes taking on Abilene Christian at 10 a.m. The Bobcats will then host Incarnate Word at noon and ACU at 6:30 p.m.