Oct. 8, 2005

Box Score

SAN MARCOS - Texas State needed five games and double-digit kills from three different players, as the Bobcats knocked off Northwestern State in a 30-22, 25-30, 30-26, 23-30, 15-10 thriller Saturday at Strahan Coliseum.

Texas State (8-7, 6-1SLC) made it five-straight in the Southland Conference with the five-game win, while Northwestern State (5-9, 3-4 SLC) fell to a game below .500 in the conference with the loss.

Game one of the match began with a 1-0 Texas State lead and the teams eventually played to a 5-5 tie. Northwestern State went on a 4-0 run that put the Demons on top 9-5 and forced a Bobcat time out.

Texas State scored two straight out of the time out to cut the lead to 9-7, and after a Northwestern State point made the score 10-7, Brittany Prewit and Karry Griffin combined for a block to cut the lead to 10-8.

After a pair of traded points ran the score to 11-9, Texas State went on an 8-0 run that put the `Cats on top 17-11 and forced a Demon time out.

Texas State scored one more out of the break to make the score 18-11 and complete a 9-0 run that saw Prewit record four aces. Northwestern scored the next three points to make the score 18-14, but Texas State outscored the Demons 12-8 to finish the game with a 30-22 win that earned the `Cats a 1-0 lead in the match.

Northwestern State opened the second game with a kill and a 1-0 lead, and the Demons extended the lead with an ace that made the score 2-0. St. Francis got the `Cats on the board with a kill, and a Demon error tied the game at 2-2.

Northwestern scored the game's next five points to lead 7-2, forcing the Bobcats to call a time out.

Kelly Fletcher recorded a kill out of the pause to cut the lead to 7-3, and the teams went on to trade points to a 15-11 Northwestern State lead. The Demons got the game's next two points to run the lead to 17-11, but three consecutive Bobcat points got Texas State back within striking distance and cut the Demon lead to 17-14.

Northwestern State responded, outscoring the Bobcats 13-11 to finish with a 30-25 game-two win that tied the match at 1-1.

Texas State opened game three with a Griffin score and extended the lead to 2-0 on a kill by Lawrencia Brown. Northwestern got on the board with a point that made the score 2-1, but Emily Jones knocked down a kill to make the score 3-1 and back-to-back Demon errors gave the `Cats a 5-1 lead in the game.

The Bobcats got a block from St. Francis to go up 6-1, but Northwestern rallied, cutting the `Cat lead to 8-6 by way of a 7-2 run. The teams traded scores to a 9-7 Bobcat lead, and from that point the `Cats scored four consecutive to extend the lead to 13-7.

Northwestern State answered the Bobcat run with one of its own, scoring the game's next five points to cut the `Cat lead to 13-12. Texas State rebounded and ran the lead to 15-12, but Northwestern would get within one two more times at 15-14 and 16-15.

Texas State used back-to-back kills to move the lead to 18-15, and a 3-1 Demon run put Northwestern back within one at 19-18. Texas State fought off the Northwestern State attack and extended its lead to 24-19, but the Demons again went on the offensive, getting back within one at 25-24. Northwestern State got within a point one more time at 26-25, but Texas State finished the game on a 4-1 run to win game three 30-26, putting the `Cats in front 2-1 in the match.

Northwestern State opened game four with a 1-0 lead, and Texas State answered with an Elizabeth Nwoke kill that tied the game at 1-1. Texas State took its first game-four lead with an Amy Ramirez ace at 3-2, but after four straight traded points forced a 6-6 tie, Northwestern regained the lead at 7-6 on a Bobcat error.

Texas State got within one twice more before tying the game at 9-9, but Northwestern State would take over with a 4-1 run that made the score 13-10 and prompted a Texas State time out.

Northwestern got one more out of the time out to take a 14-10 lead, and the Demons continued the offensive barrage in extending the lead to 16-11. Two straight points for the Bobcats cut the lead to 16-13, but Northwestern State finished strong, outscoring the `Cats 14-10 for a 30-23 win that forced a decisive game five in the match.

Texas State began the match's final game with a kill by Brown and after an errant Bobcat serve tied the game at 1-1, a Northwestern State error put the `Cats back on top 2-1.

The Demons once again tied the score at 2-2, which was promptly answered by a Nwoke kill that put the `Cats ahead 3-2. Northwestern slipped a ball by the Bobcat defense to tie the score at 3-3, but the Bobcats again fought back with an Ashley Stark kill that made the score 4-3.

After a Bobcat error tied the game at 4-4, Stark again drilled a ball into the Demon defense for a kill that made the score 5-4 in favor of Texas State. The Bobcats took their first two-point lead at 6-4 with a Prewit kill, and Brown followed with a hard-hit ball that extended the lead to 7-4. Prewit and Stark combined on a block to run the lead to 8-4, but a Texas State error on the next play cut the `Cat lead to 8-5.

Traded points kept the Bobcat lead at three and moved the score to 9-6, and a Demon service ace got Northwestern back within two at 9-7. St. Francis and Prewit answered with a combined block that put the `Cats up 10-7, and Brown followed by driving a ball into the floor to make the score 11-7.

Prewit's fifth and sixth aces of the match ran the score to 13-7, and after a 3-0 Demon run made the score 13-10, Texas State knocked down back-to-back points to put the match away with a 15-10 game-five win.

Brown led the Bobcats with 16 kills, while Nwoke (12 kills) and St. Francis (11 kills) rounded out the double-digit column for Texas State. Hickman finished with 52 assists in the win, while Amy Ramirez had 19 digs, followed by Hickman's 17 to lead the defense. Hickman also shared the blocks lead on the night for the Bobcats, as she and Griffin each recorded five blocks in the match. Prewit finished the match with a team-high and season-high six aces.

Northwestern State finished with three players in double-digit kills, with Priscila Augusto leading the way at 19, and Rachel Ford led four players in double-digit digs for the Demon defense.

Texas State is back in action Tuesday, when the `Cats travel Texas-San Antonio at 7 p.m., which begins a five-match swing away from San Marcos. The `Cats next home action will come Oct. 28 against Lamar.