Oct. 25, 2005

Box Score

NACOGDOCHES - Texas State came storming out of the gates Tuesday night in Nacogdoches, but SLC front-runner Stephen F. Austin put the brakes on the Bobcat upset bid, winning three in a row to beat the `Cats 3-1 at Johnson Coliseum.

Texas State (11-9, 9-3 SLC) looked as if it was primed to upset the SLC-undefeated Ladyjacks, winning game one 30-28 to go up 1-0 in the match. The game started with a Karry Griffin kill to put the `Cats up 1-0, but SFA would take over the lead at 4-3 and not trail until a Lawrencia Brown kill at an 11-11 tie made it 12-11 Bobcats.

The Bobcats got out in front by two a pair of times, but SFA would make another run and take the lead back at 18-17. Texas State used an Elizabeth Nwoke kill to tie the game at 18-18, and an SFA attack error broke the tie, giving the `Cats a 19-18 lead. The game tied five more times before the Ladyjacks took a 25-24 lead, but Texas State used a 6-3 run to close the game and get the two-point decision.

Stephen F. Austin (21-2, 13-0 SLC) gained an early 2-0 lead in game two, and despite getting within one point on two occasions, Texas State could never manage to tie or take a lead in the game on the way to the 30-22 SFA win. The Ladyjacks cruised to a 16-11 lead, and after the `Cats cut the lead to 16-14, SFA went on a 7-1 tear to extend the lead to 23-15.

The Ladyjacks coasted in, going point-for-point with the Bobcats to finish with the eight point victory.

Game three began like game two with SFA grabbing the initial lead, but Texas State would gain the lead at 2-1 with a pair of early points. Texas State extended that lead to 7-3 on an Ashley Stark kill, and the `Cats maintained that four-point lead at 13-9 with an SFA error.

After an SFA time out, the Ladyjacks posted the next three points to cut the lead to one, and the `Jacks would eventually tie the game at 16-16. A Laura Cramer kill capped the 8-3 run with a kill to put SFA on top 17-16.

Texas State tied the game three more times before taking its next lead at 20-19, but the `Jacks outscored the Bobcats 11-6 to finish with the 30-26 win, earning a 2-1 advantage in the match.

The Bobcats grabbed the first two points of game four, but after three ties SFA went on top 5-4. The Ladyjacks held that lead despite seven Bobcat ties until the `Cats broke a 15-15 tie with an SFA error, putting Texas State on top 16-15.

SFA scored the game's next six points to take a 21-16 lead, and the `Jacks outscored the Bobcats 9-8 to cap the deciding game-four win, 30-24. The win kept SFA unmarked in the SLC loss column, and dropped the `Cats three full games back of the Ladyjacks in the SLC standings.

Brown posted her second-best total as a Bobcat, knocking down 19 kills in the contest, while Nwoke was just behind with 18. Emily Jones finished the match with a career-best 12 kills, and setter Erin Hickman provided assists on 61 of the `Cats 66 team kills. Amy Ramirez tied her second-best career mark in digs, recording 27 to lead the Bobcat defense, while Griffin paced the Bobcats up front with six blocks.

SFA Freshman Laura Railey led the SFA attack, putting down 23 kills to help keep the `Jacks unbeaten in conference play. Stephanie Figgers led the SFA defense, as the SLC's Defensive Player of the Week notched 28 digs in the win.

Texas State is off until Friday, when the `Cats take on Lamar at Strahan Coliseum. The 7 p.m. match is part of a two-match weekend home-stand, with the Bobcats also hosting McNeese State Saturday at 4 p.m. in San Marcos.