Box Score
San Marcos, Texas – Chants of “700” filled Strahan Coliseum in the waning moments of Tuesday evening's match between Texas State and Prairie View A&M as volleyball head coach Karen Chisum reached yet another milestone during her storied career.
A kill by senior Shelbi Irvin put the finishing touches on the victory that was the 700th of Chisum's career. She joins just six other active NCAA Division I head coaches with 700 career wins as her all-time record now stands at 700-451-3.
“There have been a lot of people involved in those 700 wins,” Chisum said. “That's what means the world to me. I love Texas State, and I love these kids. They've been the ones who've done it.”
Just four days shy of exactly 30 years since Chisum's first win, which came against UTEP on September 11, 1980, the victory puts Chisum in elite company in the coaching profession. It also allows her and the Bobcats to focus their attention on their ultimate goal this season – winning another Southland Conference championship.
“I'm glad it's done, and I'm glad it's over,” Chisum said. “Now we can move on and think about winning the conference.”
The Bobcats never lost focus of their goal of delivering number 700 in front of the hometown fans on Tuesday night as they convincingly beat the Lady Panthers, 3-0 (25-12, 25-15, 25-6). Texas State snaps its three-game losing streak and improves to 3-4 overall, while Prairie View A&M drops to 1-6 this season.
Texas State hit a season-high .455 for the match as the offense clicked all night behind the setting of Irvin and sophomore Caleigh McCorquodale. Freshman Preslie Alexander led the way for the Bobcats offensively, posting 12 kills and a .550 hitting percentage.
The Bobcats dominated the center of the court all night as three Texas State middle blockers hit at a .500 clip or better. Freshman Ashlee Hilbun# hit .667 with six kills, while junior Amber Calhoun tallied seven kills on 14 swings without an error for a .500 hitting percentage. Freshman Madeline Gaffney also chipped in with three kills and a .500 percentage.
Things went the Bobcats way from the opening serve when Irvin's ace gave the 833 fans at Strahan Coliseum reason to cheer. Texas State trailed just once in the match, that being in the third set when Prairie View A&M held a 1-0 advantage before Hilbun's kill and two points on the serve of freshman Erica Dryden put the Bobcats ahead.
The final 11 points of the match were all scored by Texas State as the team limited the Lady Panthers to just six points in the third set.
But the story of the night was the milestone win for Chisum.
“It was good that we got to celebrate her 700th win here at home,” Irvin said. “It's awesome to be a part of such a good legacy.”
Coach Chisum and the Bobcats will look to move toward her next milestone win this weekend when they host the CenturyLink Premier at Strahan Coliseum. Play begins Friday morning at 10 a.m. with Alabama taking on North Texas before the Bobcats take the floor at noon against Tennessee-Martin.
