Hempstead, N.Y. – A little more than an hour and three sets was all it took for the Texas State volleyball team to defeat Canisius on Saturday afternoon at the Hofstra/Asics Invitational. The Bobcats hit .427 as a team as they moved to 2-1 overall on the young season.
Canisius finished the two-day tournament with a 1-2 record.
Freshman Madeline Gaffney earned Hofstra/Asics Invitational All-Tournament Team honors after another outstanding performance on Saturday. The middle blocker was hit a perfect 1.000 with seven kills on seven attempts to go along with a team-high four blocks in the win.
“It feels really good to be named to the all-tournament team,” Gaffney said. “I wasn't expecting it at all.”
With the score 12-9 in the opening set, the Bobcats turned to freshman Amari Deardorff to get them on track. Deardorff put down back-to-back kills from the right side to bring the score to 12-11.
But Canisius would maintain a slim advantage until the Bobcats went on a run to grab a 20-19 lead – the team's first since the opening points.
The teams played even until 23-23 when a long rally ended with a Canisius attack error to give Texas State a set point. The Bobcats took advantage as setter Caleigh McCorquodale's heads-up play earned Texas State a 1-0 advantage in the match. Following a short rally, McCorquodale found the back corner of the opponent's court wide open and pushed it over on two for the point.
The Bobcats had 20 kills in the opening set, led by freshman Preslie Alexander's five. Five other players finished with three kills as the team hit an impressive .436 in the period.
Texas State jumped ahead early behind a strong block and efficient offense and held the advantage until 17-11 when sophomore Danielle Sanchou's ace gave the Bobcats a seven-point advantage and forced a Canisius timeout.
McCorquodale and senior AJ Watlington put down consecutive kills to extend the advantage to 20-11 before the Golden Griffin momentarily stopped the rally. But Texas State kept the pressure on down the stretch and closed out the second set, 25-14, on a Canisius attack error.
The Bobcats hit an even higher percentage in the second set, finishing at a .500 clip with 12 kills. Schumacher and Gaffney both had three kills in the set to lead the team.
The third set began with a Texas State block, but Canisius quickly turned the tide and raced to a 7-2 lead, forcing a Bobcat timeout to regroup.
After closing the gap to three, 10-7, on an ace by Schumacher, the Bobcats went on a run behind the serving of freshman Rachel James to take a 12-11 advantage. The narrow margin remained until a three-point run put the team ahead, 18-14.
Three straight points for the Golden Griffin brought them back to within one, but a pair of kills by the Bobcats extended their lead back to three, 20-17. And Texas State would cruise from there, winning five of the next seven points for the three-set sweep.
The Bobcats had six players finish with six-or-more kills, led by Schumacher's eight. McCorquodale had 28 assists, and Gaffney led the team with four blocks.
As a team, Texas State hit .427 for the match compared to just a .147 hitting percentage for Canisius. The Bobcats also led in kills (47-29), digs (41-37) and blocks (6.5-2.0).
Next up for Texas State is UC Davis on Friday, Sept. 3 at the SMU Invitational.
