Texas State Falls To Coastal Carolina In SBC Championship

“It’s kind of hard to look ahead right now. The disappointment is here. The tears were there for the team. But we’ll come back from Thanksgiving and see who we’re going to play. We’ll just refocus and play as hard as we can.” Coach Karen Chisum said.

JONESBORO, Ark. – The Texas State volleyball team fell 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 25-15) to Coastal Carolina in the finals of the 2017 Sun Belt Conference Championship Sunday afternoon inside Convocation Center.

The Bobcats, seeded No. 2 in the tournament and making their first appearance in the league finals since 2014, fell to 24-9 on the season. The Chanticleers, the top seed and the defending league champs, improved to 20-7.

The season will continue for Texas State, as the team has earned an automatic bid into the 2017 National Invitational Volleyball Championship. The bracket for the tournament will be announced Nov. 26 following the NCAA Selection Show. The postseason berth will be the first for the maroon and gold since 2013.

Sophomore Amy Pflughaupt led TXST with 13 kills, while junior Madison Daigle (11) and sophomore Megan Porter (10) also reached double figures. Senior Erin Hoppe distributed 30 assists, while true freshman Brooke Johnson added 12. Sophomore Micah Dinwiddie finished with a team-high 24 digs.

Pflughaupt and Dinwiddie were both named to the SBC Championship All-Tournament Team.

Coastal Carolina jumped on top by squeezing out a 25-23 first-set triumph. Neither team led by more than three at any point in the frame. The two sides played to a 22-22 standstill before the top seed closed on a 3-1 run to finish off the period.

The Bobcats drew even by swinging the second-set score by their own 25-23 margin. CCU initially went ahead 7-3 before the maroon and gold used a 5-1 run to tie the frame at 8-8. TXST fought hard to turn a 13-13 tie into a 21-15 advantage, but Coastal Carolina battled back to within one at 23-22. Texas State then used a pair of errors to capture the set.

CCU took the third by another 25-23 scoreline. TXST enjoyed an early five-point lead at 8-3 and later led 12-8, but the Chanticleers ventured on a 7-0 run to climb on top 15-12. The remainder of the game was tight throughout, with the final draw coming at 22-22. As was the case in the opening set, Coastal Carolina won three of the final four points to move to the brink of victory.

The Chanticleers proved to be too much down the stretch for Texas State. The Bobcats were able to stay close at 12-12, but the remainder of the set saw CCU close on a 13-3 run to capture the conference title.

Leah Hardeman had a match-high 21 kills, while Kyla Manning added 19. Sara Boothe (42) and Kate Federico (12) tallied double-digit assists, while Sydney Alvis registered 27 digs. Hardeman (16) and Boothe (11) also finished with double-figure digs.

Coastal Carolina led in kills (59-51), attack percentage (.264-.130), assists (56-43), digs (71-65), and blocks (12-10). Texas State led in aces (6-4).

TEXAS STATE COACH KAREN CHISUM

Opening statement…

“We gave it a good run. Those first three games were nip and tuck. It was good, quality volleyball. We played much better than last night (in the semifinal win over Louisiana) until our passing broke down. Our strength all year long has been our offense, and that broke down at the end of the match. Hats off to Coastal Carolina. I’m glad Leah Hardeman is a senior so we won’t have to see her again. She’s an incredible player.”

On changing formations midway through the match…

“We needed more offense. I didn’t have any problems with Mattie (Adams), but we just needed more offense. We needed another hitter on the floor, so we brought in Brooke (Johnson) to set to give us three hitters. We scored 10 points with her on the back line to start the third set. That got us going, which we should have taken game three after that. We had a lead, and then we had two or three passing errors and lost the momentum. Brooke did a good job. Her serve was good, as well.”

On advancing to the NIVC…

“It’s kind of hard to look ahead right now. The disappointment is here. The tears were there for the team. But we’ll come back from Thanksgiving and see who we’re going to play. We’ll just refocus and play as hard as we can. This is our first opportunity for postseason in four years, so we’re excited about that.”