Sept. 13, 2005

Box Score

SAN MARCOS - Texas State used three consecutive two-point wins to get by I-35 rival Texas-San Antonio 3-1 in the Bobcats' Southland Conference opener Tuesday at Strahan Coliseum.

Texas State (2-6, 1-0 SLC) fell behind early, losing game one to the Roadrunners 30-21.

UT-San Antonio (3-5, 0-1 SLC) never trailed in the first game of the match, jumping out to an 8-4 lead that prompted a Bobcat timeout. UTSA outscored Texas State 10-2 out of the time out to take an 18-6 lead, and extended the lead to 23-12 before a Texas State 4-1 run that cut the lead to seven and brought on a Roadrunner time out.

The Roadrunners finished game one on a 7-4 clip to take game one 30-21 and grab a 1-0 lead in the match.

In game two, Texas State took the early lead, jumping out to an early 4-2 advantage that turned into a 15-8 lead midway through the second game.

The Bobcats extended the lead to nine, 18-9, but UTSA rallied and cut the lead to four at 19-15. After a Bobcat time out, UTSA went on a 12-5 run that cut the lead to one, and the Roadrunners tied the game at 29-29. Texas State used back-to-back kills from Brandy St. Francis to end the Roadrunner rally and take game two 31-29, which also tied the match at 1-1.

Game three saw Texas State again jump out of the blocks, this time snagging a 6-0 lead early, but UTSA again cut the lead to one point, rallying from six down to make the score 14-13. UTSA tied the game at 14-14 and took its first lead at 15-14 out of a Bobcat time out, and the Roadrunners would not trail again until Texas State reclaimed the lead at 24-23 on another St. Francis kill. Texas State outscored the `Runners 6-5 to finish game three with a 30-28 win, and the Bobcats stole the match lead at 2-1.

Looking for its first win in seven matches, Texas State opened the fourth and final game on a 10-4 run, but UTSA again rallied, cutting the Bobcat lead to 20-19 and eventually tying the game at 20-20. UTSA took its first lead at 21-20, but Texas State outscored the Roadrunners 11-8 to finish the game and the match with a 31-29 win.

Texas State's three consecutive two-point wins gave the `Cats a 3-1 win, and secured its second SLC-opening victory in three years.

Elizabeth Nwoke led the Bobcat charge with 15 kills, while Lawrencia Brown had 13 and St. Francis added 12 in the win. Jesi Grisham added 32 assists to the Bobcat offense, while Amy Ramirez had 15 digs to lead the Bobcat defense. St. Francis had a team-high six blocks in the game. The `Cats out blocked UTSA 12-to-1 in the match.

Texas State is back in action Saturday, when the Bobcats host Texas-Arlington in search of their second-straight Southland Conference victory. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at Strahan Coliseum.