San Marcos, Texas – One night showcasing its depth in a win against North Texas, the Texas State volleyball team struggled to find a winning combination against Alabama on Saturday afternoon. In the third meeting all-time between the two schools, the Crimson Tide was victorious for the first time over the Bobcats to capture the CenturyLink Premier Championship.

Alabama began the match with several runs before closing out the first set with a 25-16 win. Texas State rebounded in the second and third sets, holding leads late in both periods, but the Bobcats could not pull out a victory as they fell 25-20 in the second set and 25-23 in the third.

A pair of bright spots for the Bobcats on Saturday, as they were all weekend, were Amber Calhoun and Melinda Cave. Both players were named to the CenturyLink Premier All-Tournament Team after helping lead the team to a 2-1 record over the two-day tournament.

Calhoun led the team with 26 kills (2.36 kills per set) and a .468 hitting percentage during the CenturyLink Premier while also finishing second on the team with 12 blocks (1.09 blocks per set). A junior middle blocker, Calhoun spent time playing on the right side throughout the tournament as the head coach Karen Chisum shuffled through multiple lineups. She also had the opportunity to play in the back row and added nine digs during the tournament.

Cave, a senior captain along with Calhoun and senior Shelbi Irvin, finished the tournament with 21 kills, the third most on the team, while recording a .348 hitting percentage. Cave led the team with a 2.62 kills per set average while also tallying 15 digs, five blocks and a pair of aces during three matches.

After dropping the first set by nine, Texas State fell behind early again in the second set, 7-1. However, back-to-back blocks by Calhoun and AJ Watlington got the Bobcats on track and helped begin a 12-6 run that evened the match at 13-13.

Following an Alabama timeout, the Bobcat block came up big again with two straight stuffs to give the team its first lead of the match, 16-14. Alabama evened the match at 17-17 before Texas State briefly regained the lead at 18-17 on a kill by Preslie Alexander. But the Crimson Tide went on a 8-2 run to close out the set with a 25-20 win.

Texas State's offense came alive in the third set, but Alabama matched the Bobcats kill-for-kill. With the match tied at 13-13, Alexander drilled a kill through the Crimson Tide defense that started a four-point run for the team. Texas State maintained its advantage until the score was 21-20 when Alabama rattled off three consecutive points for a 23-21 lead.

The teams traded points before an Ashlee Hilbun kill made the score 24-23, but a long rally on match point resulted in the match-high 12^th kill of the match for Alabama's Shelbi Goode as the Crimson Tide completed the sweep.

Texas State hit .393 for the third set, while Alabama hit at a .357 clip.

Alexander led the team with seven kills, while also chipping in with five digs. Caleigh McCorquodale totaled 14 assists and 12 digs for her second double-double of the season, and both Cave and Calhoun had six kills.

The Bobcats return to action on Monday, September 13 when they travel to Edinburg, Texas, for a 6 p.m. match against UT-Pan American.