Box Score
San Marcos, Texas – Sparked by the return of senior Mo Middleton to the Bobcat lineup, the Texas State volleyball team overcame a 0-1 deficit to defeat Tennessee-Martin, 3-1 (20-25, 25-14, 25-11, 25-20), in the team's first match of its home tournament, the CenturyLink Premier.
Middleton, who missed the first seven matches of the season with the leg injury, started the second set for Texas State and helped the team jump out to a 10-3 lead with three kills early on. She finished the set with a team-high five kills en route to lead the team with 11 kills for the match.
“It was kind of exciting because I haven't been out here in awhile,” Middleton said. “It was pretty amazing to play with the new faces that we had from the spring and the freshmen. So it was different, but I think it worked really well.”
After winning the second set, 25-14, the Bobcats coasted in the third set after nine consecutive serves by Middleton gave them a 13-4 lead. Ashlee Hilbun and Melinda Cave combined for five kills in the latter half of the set to help push Texas State to a 25-11 win.
The Bobcats got off to a fast start in the fourth set, leading 14-6, only to see the Skyhawks make a run and tie the match 20-20. However, Texas Start regained the momentum for the final five points of the match to take the final set by a score of 25-20.
Right behind Middleton offensively were AJ Watlington and Hibun who finished with nine and eight kills, respectively. Amber Calhoun also played well as she totaled seven kills and a .545 hitting percentage.
The Bobcats had a season-high eight aces in the match as three different players (Middleton, Watlington and Danielle Sanchou) had a pair.
Defensively, Sanchou had a team-high 12 digs, while Shelbi Irvin had 11 along with 35 assists for her team-high fourth double-double of the season.
At the net, Hilbun was a part of five of the team's seven blocks, and Calhoun had two block assists and one solo stuff.
The Bobcats return to action on Friday evening when they take on North Texas at 7 p.m. For more information, visit www.txstatebobcats.com/centurylinkpremier.
