Texas State Volleyball Hands Houston Baptist First Loss Of 2017

TXST will face Stephen F. Austin at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 12 inside Johnson Coliseum.

SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team handed Houston Baptist its first loss of the season Saturday evening in the final match of the 2017 Creeds & Crests Classic inside Strahan Coliseum.

The Bobcats (7-3) defeated the Huskies by a 3-0 (25-18, 27-25, 25-22) margin to drop the visitors to 7-1 on the year.

The victory allowed TXST to finish second at its home tournament and send HBU down into third place. SMU claimed top honors after posting a 3-0 record. This marked the second straight runner-up effort for the maroon and gold after placing second at last week’s Xavier Tournament.

Texas State swept both opponents Saturday after dispatching UMass Lowell by an efficient 3-0 score in the morning session.

In the triumph over the Huskies, the Bobcats were led by 10 kills each from senior Jaliyah Bolden and junior Madison Daigle. The duo also combined for seven blocks. True freshman Brooke Johnson tallied her second double-double of the year with 17 assists and 17 digs. Senior Erin Hoppe added 14 assists, while sophomores Megan Porter (16), Amy Pflughaupt (11) and Micah Dinwiddie (11) all ascended to double-figure digs.

After a pair of dominant weekends at the office, both Daigle and Porter were named to the All-Tournament Team.

The first set featured zero lead changes and was rarely in doubt. Texas State quickly gained an 11-3 advantage thanks in large part to Daigle’s serving prowess. HBU crawled back to within one at 11-10 and later drew even at 16-16, but the maroon and gold turned on the afterburners in the game’s final stretch to find the win. TXST went on to score nine of the last 11 points.

Texas State was again able to remain one step ahead of Houston Baptist early in the second, but the visitors showed why they were previously unbeaten by staying close and earning their first lead of the night at 18-17. HBU controlled the rest of the frame and found a set point at 24-23, but TXST ended on a 4-2 run to take a commanding 2-0 lead.

Neither side led by more than three points in the third period. The Huskies showed renewed vigor as they tried to stay in the match, but the Bobcats were able to stay toe-to-toe with the visitors. HBU led 21-19 at one point, but TXST claimed six of the last seven points to secure the victory.

For the second time in the day, the Bobcats kept an opponent from reaching double-digit kills. Madison O’Brien paced HBU with 24 assists and 14 digs, while Bailey Banks (16) and Hailey Erickson (14) also reached the double-digit dig plateau.

TXST posted top marks in kills (43-35), hitting percentage (.163-.119), assists (40-32), aces (5-1), and digs (65-59). Houston Baptist had more blocks (11-7).

Texas State is now set to begin final preparations for Sun Belt Conference action with a road trip to Nacogdoches, Texas, on tap for the last week of non-conference play. TXST will face Stephen F. Austin at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 12 inside Johnson Coliseum.

2017 CREEDS & CRESTS CLASSIC FINAL RESULTS

1. SMU (3-0)
2. Texas State (3-1)
3. Houston Baptist (2-1)
4. UTSA (0-3)
5. UMass Lowell (0-3)

TOURNAMENT MVP

Lauren Mills (SMU)

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Brittany Adams (SMU)

Montana Watts (SMU)

Madison Daigle (TXST)

Megan Porter (TXST)

Blair Gillard (HBU)

Bailey Banks (HBU)