Nov. 1, 2005

Final Stats

SAN MARCOS - Lawrencia Brown posted a dozen kills and 12 points, but the upset-minded Bobcats were turned back Tuesday night, dropping a 3-0 decision to No.-14 Texas (17-3) at Strahan Coliseum.

A volleyball-record 1,804 fans took in the match, wiping out Texas State's previous record crowd of 1,568 that saw the `Cats knock off Texas in five games on Sept. 5, 2000.

Texas State (13-10) opened the match with a 1-0 lead, posting the first point on a Longhorn error. A Texas kill tied the game at 1-1, and the Longhorns went on to get the next three points to capture a 4-1 lead.

Texas State notched a point to make the score 4-2, and after the Longhorns escaped to a 6-3 lead, two straight Bobcat points shaved the lead to 6-5. Texas grabbed more distance, moving the lead to 9-6, but again the `Cats made a run, outscoring Texas 3-1 to get within one at 10-9.

Back-to-back points put Texas in front 12-9, but the Bobcats would again answer, this time sparking a 3-0 run that tied the game at 12-12. Four more ties would come from back-and-forth points, and with the score knotted at 16-16, a Longhorn error coupled with an Elizabeth Nwoke kill put the `Cats on top 18-16, forcing a Texas time out.

Out of the break, an errant Bobcat serve cut the lead to 18-17, but Texas State struck back with a point to move the advantage to 19-17. Texas scored two straight to even the game at 19-19, and after a Longhorn attack error gave Texas State a 20-19 lead, Nwoke notched her first ace of the match to move the lead to 21-19.

Texas found two straight points to tie the game at 21-21, and after a Bobcat time out, the teams traded scores to a 22-22 tie. Brown broke the tie with a kill to put the `Cats up 23-22, and a Brittany Prewit service gave Texas State a two-point lead at 24-22. Prewit's next serve went awry to put Texas back within one, but Brandy St. Francis answered with a kill for a 25-23 lead.

Texas again watched an errant Bobcat serve move the score to 25-24, and the Longhorn front line tied the game at 25-25 by drilling a ball past the Bobcat defense. A left-side block earned the Longhorns a 26-25 lead, and after a second Texas State time out, Nwoke slammed a ball into the Longhorn backcourt to tie the game at 26-26.

Texas finished strong, scoring the final four points of the game, all on Bobcat errors, to win 30-26 and go up 1-0 in the match.

The Longhorns opened game two with a kill and a 1-0 lead, while Texas State kill tied the game at 1-1, but three-straight Texas points pushed the Longhorn lead to 4-1. Texas State got back within one with back-to-back points at 4-3, but again the Longhorns went on a spurt, scoring six straight to open a 10-3 lead.

Texas State battled back to four points on three occasions and cut the lead to 19-15 with a St. Francis ace, but another big Longhorn run ended the game and put Texas State down 2-0 in the match. Texas outscored the Bobcats 8-0 from a 22-18 advantage to claim game two 30-18.

Texas opened game three with a 1-0 lead, and the score remained neck-in-neck through the stanza's first 19 points. Down 10-8, Texas State notched a point on a Brown score, but Texas fired back with three kills to push the lead to 13-9.

From that point, the Longhorns outscored the Bobcats 7-2 to take a 20-11 lead, and Texas capped the match by outscoring Texas State 10-5 to finish with a 30-16 game-three win and a 3-0 sweep in the match.

Brown's was the only Bobcat to record double-digit kills with 12, while Erin Hickman and Christina Melvin split setting duties, recording 17 and 12 assists, respectively.

Texas State takes two days off before a pair of pivotal matches in the Southland Conference, as the `Cats take on second-place Sam Houston State Friday and turn around to play first-place and unbeaten (SLC) Stephen F. Austin on Saturday. Both matches are slated for 7 p.m. starts at Strahan Coliseum.