Box Score
Dallas, Texas – For the second straight weekend, the Texas State volleyball team found itself in a five-set match to begin a tournament. Unfortunately for the Bobcats, the result was also the same as the last weekend.
Texas State fell 3-2 (22-25, 25-16, 13-25, 25-23, 15-10) in the first match of the SMU Doubletree Invite on Friday morning at Moody Coliseum. The Bobcats led 2-1 in the match but could not close out the Aggies (1-2).
With the loss, Texas State evens its record at 2-2 this season.
“It was a tough one,” head coach Karen Chisum said. “We beat ourselves today. We had too many errors on our side.”
A slow start by the Bobcats was quickly erased by a 7-2 run that put Texas State in front, 17-15. UC Davis answered with three of the next four points to tie the set at 18-18, but four straight points by the Bobcats, capped off by a kill from Amari Deardorff, gave the lead back to Texas State. Ahead 24-22, setter Caleigh McCorquodale went back to Deardorff for the set winner, and she delivered with her third kill of the set.
The Bobcats hit .382 in the opening set as Preslie Alexander had a team-high five kills and AJ Watlington added four. McCorquodale finished the period with 14 assists.
The second set started much like the first as Texas State fell behind early. However, this time the Bobcats were not able to turn things around like they did in the first. Down 19-9, the team came within seven after going on a 7-4 run, but that is as close as they would get before falling, 25-16.
The Bobcats regained their form from the first set as they jumped out to a 9-4 lead early. The Aggies crept back to within four points, 10-6, but Texas State displayed its balance as the team increased its lead to 19-11 thanks to back-to-back aces by Ashlee Hilbun. Madeline Gaffney scored consecutive points on a block and subsequent kill to make the Bobcats' advantage 21-11, and kills from Deardorff and Alexander gave Texas State the set, 25-13.
“Ashlee Hilbun went in and did a very good job,” Chisum said. “She was a motivating factor for us.”
Within the final 10 points of the crucial fourth set, two plays sparked controversy. First, with the Bobcats trailing, 20-16, an attack by Watlington looked to hit the floor for a Bobcat point, but initially, play continued. Several seconds after the play, the action was stopped and Texas State was awarded the point to the dismay of UC Davis.
The second incident occurred on set point and was much less favorable for the Bobcats. After coming back from a four-point deficit late in the set, Texas State was within one point of tying the match at 24-24 when what appeared to be a back row attack on the UC Davis setter was not whistled, and the Aggies took the point on a kill to win the set, 25-23.
In the deciding set, the Bobcats had the momentum early as they led by two, 8-6, but when the teams changed sides of the court, the momentum stayed for the Aggies as they quickly erased the deficit before taking the lead for good and winning the set, 15-10.
Deardorff led the team with 20 kills, while Watlington finished with 15 and Alexander had 13. McCorquodale set a career high with 51 assists and matched a career best with six kills. Jennifer Neice tallied 22 digs for her fourth consecutive match with double-digit digs, and Watlington added 13 digs for her first double-double of the season.
The Bobcats return to action on Friday evening when they take on tournament-host SMU at 7:30. Live stats and webstreaming will be available through www.smumustangs.com, while www.txstatebobcats.com will also have score updates on the volleyball schedule page.
