Box Score
Arlington, Texas – The Southland Conference season has been a tough road for the Texas State volleyball team, and it did not get any easier on Wednesday evening as the Bobcats dropped a five-setter against SLC West Division foe UT Arlington. The Bobcats fell to 10-9 overall and 3-2 in the Southland Conference with the defeat, while UTA improved to 9-10, 3-2 SLC.
UT Arlington started the match strong with a 25-20 win in the opening set to take a 1-0 lead. However, the Bobcats were resilient in bouncing back to take a close second set, 25-23.
The pivotal third set went to UTA after the Mavericks jumped out to an early lead and held on for a 25-19 win, but the Bobcats fought back in the fourth set, breaking open a 20-18 lead with a five-point run to close the stanza with a 25-18 win in the set.
The fifth set went back-and-forth as the Bobcats held a 4-1 advantage early before UT Arlington came back to tie the score at 7-7. Texas State briefly regained the advantage, 8-7, on a kill from
Melinda Cave, but the Mavericks scored the next three points after the changeover to take a 10-8 lead. Kills from Cave and
Amari Deardorff kept the Bobcats within two down the stretch, but UTA scored four of the final six points of the match to win the final set, 15-11.
“We got good offensive performances from our middles and right sides,” head coach
Karen Chisum said. “And I think that some of the adjustments we made paid off. Moving Danielle [Sanchou] to middle-back helped us defensively.”
Deardorff and
Amber Calhoun tied for the team lead with 14 kills apiece. Deardorff, a freshman right side hitter, posted a .382 hitting percentage as she had just one error in 34 attempts. Calhoun, a junior middle blocker, finished with a .367 hitting percentage and the first double-double of her career as she added 12 digs.
Cave came off the bench in the second set and ignited the Texas State offense as she finished with 13 kills and a team-high .391 hitting percentage. A senior right side hitter, Cave has hit at a .390 clip or higher in three of the team's last four matches.
Irvin led the team with 32 assists for the match as she recorded her eighth double-double of the 2010 campaign.
Caleigh McCorquodale shared setting duties with Irvin on Wednesday night and finished with 23 assists. The duo helped the Bobcats to a team hitting percentage of .241.
Errors, particularly at the service line, haunted the Bobcats on Wednesday night. Texas State committed 11 service errors compared to just five for the Mavericks.
“The consistency and the terminations from our outside hitters were not there tonight for us,” Chisum said. “We've been on the road a lot, and it'll be great to get back home and play at Strahan Coliseum.”
Leading the way for UT Arlington was Amanda Aguilera and Tara Frantz. Aguilera had 18 kills, while Frantz posted 16 for the victors.
“Hats off to UTA,” Chisum said. “Their outsides played like dominant outside hitters tonight.”
Following five straight road matches to begin the Southland Conference season, the Bobcats return to Strahan Coliseum for four consecutive matches. Texas State begins the homestand on Saturday with a 2 p.m. contest against Northwestern State.
