Oct. 25, 2007

Final Stats

SAN MARCOS - Melinda Cave led Texas State in kills for the fourth-straight match, finishing with 17 kills and hitting .556 as Texas State swept Central Arkansas 3-0 (30-27, 30-20, 30-27) on Thursday night inside Strahan Coliseum.

The win marked the Bobcats' (12-11, 6-5 SLC) first over the Sugar Bears (21-7, 7-4 SLC), avenging last season's loss in the first-ever meeting between the teams.

Game one was a battle as the teams traded points to an 11-11 tie before Texas State used a 12-4 run to build a 23-15 lead. The Sugar Bears fought back to within two points at 24-22 but would get no closer as the `Cats held on for a 30-27 lead.

Shelbi Irvin served six straight points to open game two, setting the tone for a 30-20 Texas State win in game two as UCA was held to a .023 hitting percentage in the frame.

Irvin repeated her serving prowess at the beginning of game three, serving the first eight points of the game with three aces. UCA's 7-0 run brought the Sugar Bears back in it at 12-10, and the teams traded points until 26-24. Three straight kills by Cave put Texas State at match point, and the Bobcats won 30-27.

Cave was one of only five Bobcats to record a kill, with Amy Weigle adding nine and Lawrencia Brown eight kills. Shelbi Irvin had 26 assists to go along with six aces, while Kacey Wimpy led the defense with 13 digs. Stephanie Puckett also had six block assists to lead the `Cats in blocks in her longest action of the season.

Camila Scapini paced UCA with 15 kills while Chloe Smith added 10 kills. Robyn Smith had 37 assists, while Kelly Bence's 19 digs led three Sugar Bears with at least 10 digs in the match.

Texas State closes out its Southland Conference home schedule Saturday against Northwestern State. The match will start at 2 p.m. and will not be affected by the scheduled campus-wide power outage at Texas State.