Nov. 18, 2007

Final Stats

SAN ANTONIO - AJ Watlington had 13 kills and five blocks and earned Southland Conference Tournament MVP honors as fifth-seeded Texas State defeated second-seeded Stephen F. Austin in five games (14-30, 30-25, 30-26, 18-30, 15-11) on Sunday to earn the Southland Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The title marks the fifth time the Bobcats (21-11) have won the SLC Tournament crown in school history and is the first since 2005. Texas State also advances to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in program history.

Up 10-9 in game five, Amy Weigle doubled the lead with a kill before three straight attack errors by SFA gave the Bobcats match point. Melinda Cave then finished the Ladyjacks off with a kill off a double block to send the `Cats into a joyous frenzy.

Game one was all Ladyjacks with a stifling defense that held Texas State to a -.049 hitting percentage. With the Bobcats' offense struggling to get going, SFA rolled to the 30-14 win.

Roles reversed in game two as the Bobcats out-hit the Ladyjacks .255-to-.068 in the frame with Weynand and Jones combining for eight kills. Texas State never trailed in game two, opening with a 10-5 lead and holding on for a 30-25 win despite an SFA rally that cut it to one at 20-19.

In a pivotal game three, the Ladyjacks staked a 12-9 lead that grew to 16-12 before a 6-1 Texas State rally gave the `Cats the lead for the first time in the game. Up 18-17, the teams would trade points and tie four times before a pair of SFA attack errors coupled with kills by Watlington and Weigle gave Texas State a 30-26 win.

Desperate to force a game five, SFA stormed out to a 10-2 lead in game four and never looked back. Texas State trimmed the lead to four at 11-7 but the Ladyjacks responded with a 7-2 run and maintained a comfortable lead to take game four 30-18.

In the clincher, Texas State opened with a 3-0 lead before SFA used a 5-0 run to gain the advantage. The `Cats fought back to hold an 8-7 lead when the teams switched sides. From there both teams traded points until the Bobcats closed out the win to be crowned champions.

Kacey Wimpy also became the second Bobcat to set a record on the weekend, finishing with a season-high 33 digs to give her 538 on the season, breaking the old single-season dig record of 527 set by Kimberly Brewer in 1992.

Lawrencia Brown and Jessica Weynand also earned All-Tournament Team honors after they both finished with double-doubles in the title match. Brown had 13 kills and 14 digs while Weynand had 11 kills and 18 digs. Brittany Collins and Shelbi Irvin also posted double-doubles for the second straight match, as Collins had 32 assists and tied a season-high with 18 digs while Irvin added 19 assists and 22 digs.

The Ladyjacks' offense was led by Shelly Swendigand Traci Rohde, who finished with 17 and 15 kills respectively. JJ Jones finished two kills shy of a triple-double, tallying eight kills, 46 assists and 15 digs while Jami Hill led SFA in digs with 32.

Texas State will wait for the NCAA Selection Show announcing the 64-team bracket on Sunday, Nov. 25.