Oct. 19, 2006

Box Score

CONWAY, Ark. - Texas State hit .328 and Karry Griffin had 15 kills, but the Bobcats could not hold off hot-hitting Central Arkansas in a 3-0 (30-26, 30-24, 30-25) loss Thursday in Conway, Ark.

Central Arkansas (13-13, 3-5 SLC) made quick work of the Bobcats by hitting .370 in the match, while Texas State (9-13, 5-3) fell victim to nine Sugar Bear aces in the loss, which snapped a four-match winning streak that took the `Cats into the weekend.

Amy Weigle joined Griffin in double-figure scoring with ten, as Griffin led the way with 16.5. Erin Hickman led the team at the net, passing out 42 assists on the night. Central Arkansas was paced by Rachel Copley's 15 kills, while Lauren Britton added ten and Robyn Smith had 42 assists.

Kelly Bence led the Sugar Bears defensively with 19 digs, while Kelly Fletcher had the team-high mark from the back line for Texas State with ten.

UCA did not trail in the opening game, jumping out to a 12-7 lead on a service ace. Texas State fought back to two points with an Emily Jones kill that made the score 13-11, but the Bobcats would get no closer, as UCA got four of the next five points to go up 17-13.

A Copley kill late in the game gave UCA its biggest game-one lead at 28-21, and Camila Scapini finished things off with a kill at 30-26 that put the Sugar Bears up 1-0 in the match.

Texas State fought to a 10-10 tie to open game two, but again the Bears went running, taking a one-point lead at 17-16 and turning it into a 20-16 lead by way of a 4-0 run through the middle stages of the game.

Tristen McNeal put UCA on top 27-21 with a kill, and despite back-to-back Bobcat points that were scored on a Griffin kill and a Christina Melvin ace, UCA finished on a 3-0 run to win 30-24, earning a 2-0 lead in the match.

UCA rallied for an early 7-3 lead in game three but had it erased, as Texas State went on an 8-2 run to go up 11-9, taking the lead on back-to-back kills by Griffin. A service error knotted the game at 11-all, and after Texas State went up 17-15, the Sugar Bears posted five-straight points to take a 20-17 lead.

Texas State would get to within one at 20-19 on a Lawrencia Brown point, but the Bobcats would get no closer, as UCA went on a 4-1 run to capture a 24-20 lead. The Sugar Bears finished the game by outscoring the Bobcats 6-5, claiming a 30-25 game-three triumph and a 3-0 victory in the match.

For Texas State, it was the first shut-out since Sept. 15 at Houston. The win for UCA marked the first for the Bears, who met the Bobcats for the first time Thursday night. Texas State continues conference play Saturday, traveling to Northwestern State for a 4 p.m. first serve in Natchitoches, La.