Texas State Volleyball Wraps Up Play At The Baylor Invite

Taylor Bannister led LSU with 13 kills, while Olivia Beyer added 10 kills and six blocks. Lindsey Flory dished out 30 assists and also had six blocks, while Raigen Cianciulli contributed 14 digs…

WACO, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team lost 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-18) to LSU Saturday evening in the final match of the Hampton Inn and Suites Waco North Baylor Invitational inside Ferrell Center.

The Bobcats dropped to 0-3 on the year, while the Tigers (1-2) earned their first win of the young campaign.

Junior Amy Pflughaupt paced the maroon and gold with nine kills, while true freshman Emily DeWalt had a team-high 16 assists.

Taylor Bannister led LSU with 13 kills, while Olivia Beyer added 10 kills and six blocks. Lindsey Flory dished out 30 assists and also had six blocks, while Raigen Cianciulli contributed 14 digs.

The Tigers finished the night leading in kills (45-32), hitting percentage (.254-.129), assists (39-29) and blocks (12-3). Texas State had match highs in aces (5-3) and digs (40-39).

SET 1

LSU secured the initial advantage with a 25-20 victory in the first frame. The Tigers raced out to a 7-1 lead and doubled up the Bobcats at 20-10. Texas State used a 5-0 run to force an LSU timeout and got within 23-20, but a sideout and a kill would be all the Tigers needed to close out the set.

SET 2

The Tigers took a commanding 2-0 lead after claiming a hard-fought second set 25-23. Texas State went on top 13-11 at one point, but LSU rattled off six in a row to seize control of proceedings. The Tigers later scored three straight to find a 24-20 advantage after the maroon and gold crawled back within one. TXST used a 3-0 run to fend off the first three of four set points, but LSU was able to slam the door on the comeback attempt on a Bannister kill.

SET 3

Texas State played to a 7-7 tie, but the Tigers were able to open up a 15-10 lead before wrapping up the set 25-18. TXST got within two at 16-14, but LSU closed on a 9-4 run.

Texas State is now set to open the home portion of its 2018 schedule with the annual Creeds & Crests Classic Aug. 30-Sept. 1.

The Bobcats will host rival UTSA at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 30 in the first contest inside the newly-renovated Strahan Arena. TXST will also entertain James Madison, Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word.