Chanticleers Top Bobcats on Pink Out Night

Kirch leads Texas State with 10 kills, hits .556 in 3-1 loss to Coastal Carolina

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team fell 3-1 (25-21, 14-25, 25-15, 25-23) to Coastal Carolina Friday night inside Strahan Coliseum.

The game was the annual Pink Out contest for the Bobcats (9-9, 2-1 Sun Belt Conference), who were raising money to help raise awareness for breast cancer. All proceeds from the event will go to Pink Heals Hays County.

Senior Lauren Kirch led Texas State with 10 kills on a .556 hitting percentage, while also adding a match-high six blocks. Junior Erin Hoppe contributed 35 assists, and true freshman Micah Dinwiddie added 20 digs.

The closest set of the night was the first, which was won 25-21 by the Chanticleers (11-4, 2-1 SBC). The opener featured 11 ties and six lead changes, with CCU winning nine of the final 13 to secure the early edge.

TXST had its best hitting set of the night in the second to even the match at 1-1. The Bobcats blew past Coastal Carolina 25-14 thanks to a .231 attacking percentage, while the visitors hit just -.107.

The Chanticleers came out of a lengthy break and won the third 25-15, and they were able to fend off the Bobcats in the fourth 25-23. Texas State led 19-17 in the final set, but the visitors won eight of the last 12 points to escape with the road win.

Leah Hardeman was the lone Chanticleer with double-digit kills, as she finished with 11. She also tallied 11 digs for a double-double. Kate Federico also doubled up with 12 assists and 10 digs. Sara Boothe had 22 assists, while Carla Cahill added 12 digs.

The Bobcats will remain home for a contest against Appalachian State at noon Oct. 2.

TEXAS STATE COACH KAREN CHISUM

On the team’s performance…

“We were very average tonight. We were about a C-plus. We missed a good opportunity to beat one of the best teams in the conference.”

On the game plan…

“Our game plan was to overload one side offensively and set the other. We also wanted to spread the floor and go one on one with the middle blocker with two outside.”

On the attack errors…

“A good hitter can hit any set. They may not have the perfect set they want but they’ve got to be able to do something with it.”