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San Marcos, Texas – On a day that the Bobcats celebrated the 20th and 25th anniversaries of past Texas State conference-winning teams, the Texas State volleyball team did something that has become very familiar during Karen Chisum's 32 years as head coach. Win.
The Bobcats won their third straight match with a 3-1 (25-15, 25-15, 21-25, 25-13) victory over visiting McNeese State in front of 831 fans at Strahan Coliseum. The win was the fifth consecutive for the Bobcats over the Cowgirls and the 728th for Chisum in her career.
The win improved Texas State's record to 12-6 overall and 3-1 in the Southland, while McNeese State dropped to 6-12 overall and 1-3 in the SLC.
“Communication is starting to flow, and it's coming naturally,” said senior Amber Calhoun. “We've really used the last week to improve our technical skills and timing.”
Texas State's offense clicked early and often as junior setter Caleigh McCorquodale handed out a match-high 48 assists and guided the team to a .320 hitting percentage for the match.
The offense was particularly potent in the first set when the Bobcats hit .441 behind the hitting of sophomore Amari Deardorff (five kills) and seniors Lindy DeGeare (four kills) and Calhoun (three kills). The team cruised to a 25-15 victory and matched the effort in the second set, winning by an identical score.
McNeese State responded out of intermission and stole game three, but the Bobcats came back in the fourth set and used three runs of four points or more to distance themselves from the visitors and take final set by a score of 25-13.
Calhoun and sophomore Melissa Toth tied for the match high with 12 kills each, while Deardorff tallied 11 and DeGeare had 10 for the Bobcats.
“You can't have a good set without a good pass and you can't have a good attack without a good set,” McCorquodale said. “Winning is a result of the whole team playing well.”
In addition to her 48 assists, McCorquodale also put down five kills and set a new career high with four aces. Sophomore Ashlee Hilbun and freshman Laura Whalen each added two aces while Toth had one as Texas State held a 9-1 advantage in aces.
Defensively, Texas State's block came through with 11, the team's third most of the season. Calhoun led the way with a season-best six blocks, while Hilbun had five and both Deardorff and McCorquodale tallied three.
Hilbun led three Bobcats in double figures in digs with 13, while Whalen (12) and senior Rachel Doyle (10) also helped the team to a 66-64 advantage over McNeese State in the category.
Texas State hits the road for its next four matches beginning on Wednesday, October 5 with a 7 p.m. match at UT Arlington.
The Bobcats will not return to Strahan Coliseum until Wednesday, October 19 when the team hosts UT Arlington in a 6:30 p.m. game in San Marcos. That match will also be the team's Dig Pink night when all fans wearing pink will receive free admission to the game.
