Volleyball Suffers Setback Against Wichita State

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Texas State University volleyball fell 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 27-11) to Wichita State at the UTSA-hosted Roadrunner Roundup Friday afternoon.

The Bobcats (7-8) conclude the tournament with a 1-2 record, posting a win over Texas Tech and sustaining defeats to UTSA and Wichita State. Lauren Kirch and Megan Porter were named to the Roadrunner Roundup all-tournament team.

Wichita State (7-3) held a .374-.061 team hitting advantage and a 40-28 edge in kills. Tabitha Brown and Abbie Lehman paced the Shockers in kills with nine and eight, respectively, while Emily Hiebert had four kills, hit .400 and had 30 assists.

Porter led the Bobcats with 11 kills to go along with her .200 hitting percentage and three digs. Kirch counted six kills while hitting .188. Emily Shelton provided a team-high 11 assists during the match.

Wichita State took the early advantage in the first set, jumping out to an 11-4 lead and forcing Texas State to use its first timeout. A .324 team hitting percentage helped keep the Shockers in front, and the Bobcats called their second timeout while trailing by nine, 19-10. Wichita State went to take the set 25-17.

The Bobcats fell behind by six in the second set but twice cut the Shockers’ lead to three. However, Texas State could not seize the momentum needed to even the set as Wichita State used its .419 hitting percentage and 14 kills to take the set 25-17 and a 2-0 lead in the match.

Wichita State surged to a 7-2 lead in the third set behind a 4-0 run on Abbie Lehman’s serve. TXST was unable to pull the set back within six points the rest of the way as Wichita State’s Jordan Roberts put in the final point of the 25-11 set win.

Texas State now turns its attention toward Troy and the start of Sun Belt Conference play. The Bobcats play the Trojans Friday, Sept. 23 at 6 p.m., followed by a match at South Alabama on Sept. 25 before returning home to host Coastal Carolina on Sept. 30.