Texas State Bobcats VS Sam Houston State Bearkats

SAN MARCOS, Texas – A balanced attack and timely blocks helped the Texas State volleyball team defeat Sam Houston State Tuesday evening in Strahan Coliseum 3-1 (25-18, 14-25, 25-17, 25-21).

The Bobcats improved to 4-4 on the season while the Bearkats are now 4-3.

After falling behind 5-3 in the first set, Texas State went on a 7-1 run to go in front for good. Jaliyah Bolden and Kelsey Weynand both had two kills apiece during the scoring stretch.

The second set was close early but a strong offensive performance from SHSU allowed the visitors to tie the match 1-1. The Bearkats recorded 14 kills with a .357 attack percentage in the set while holding the Bobcats to only eight kills.

In the third set, Texas State jumped out to a 14-9 advantage. However, SHSU scored five straight to tie the score. A kill by Jordan Kohl kicked started a 6-1 scoring burst for the Bobcats to go back in front.

The teams traded the next four points to make the score 21-17 in favor of Texas State. Four consecutive kills, two coming on the hand of Kohl, by the Bobcats put them up 2-1 in the match.

A Texas State service error gave the Bearkats a 6-4 advantage in set four. SHSU followed with a service of its own. Then Kelsey Weynand smacked a kill and followed by combining on a block with Morgan Lewis to put the Bobcats back in the lead. Texas State eventually stretched its lead to 14-7 after the visitors were called for a ball handling error.

The Bearkats came back to cut the Bobcat lead to two twice, the last being at 23-21. Bolden teamed up with Kohl for a block to give the Bobcats match point. The Rowlett, Texas native then helped finish off the match, along with Shelby Vas Matt, with another block.

Weynand led all Texas State players with 11 kills. Bolden added 10 kills and a team-high .318 attack percentage and five rejections. Finishing the night with nine kills and four blocks was Kohl. Erin Hoppe was credited with 40 assists.

Vas Matt paced the team with 16 digs and two service aces. She also added eight kills and two assists. Also finishing with double-digit digs were Ali Hubicsak (11) and Alex Silver (13).

Texas State finished the evening with 51 kills, a .230 attack percentage and six aces. Defensively, the team recorded nine blocks and had 64 digs. SHSU was held to 47 kills on a .177 attack percentage and recorded only three rejections.

Next up for the Bobcats is the North Harbour Marriott Challenge in Portland, Oregon. The team begins the tournament against CSU Bakersfield on Friday at 12 p.m. CDT followed by a 5 p.m. match that day against Utah. Concluding the tournament on Saturday, Texas State faces Portland at 12 p.m. CDT.