Box Score
Huntsville, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team erased memories of going 0-2 last season in Huntsville as the team made it seven straight wins on Saturday evening following a victory over the Sam Houston State Bearkats, 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-22), at Johnson Coliseum. The Bobcats improved to 7-1 in the Southland Conference and 16-6 overall after finishing their streak of four consecutive road matches.
Sam Houston State suffered its third SLC loss of the season in dropping to 12-10 overall and 6-3 in the Southland. The loss was the first of the season for the Bearkats at Johnson Coliseum.
The win helped the Bobcats begin their Southland Conference scheduled with a 7-1 record for the fourth time since 2000. It also gave the Bobcats a winning streak of at least seven matches for the eighth time since 2000.
Texas State led the entire first set, jumping out to a 7-2 lead early and not letting the home team within more than two points during the entire stanza. Sophomore Amari Deardorff and senior Lindy DeGeare helped the Bobcats with four kills each in the opening set as the team recorded 17 put aways to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
The second set began with a Sam Houston State rally to take its first lead of the match. The Bobcats came back with a run that put the team on top behind the strong serving and defensive play of freshman Laura Whalen to make it 10-8 in the Bobcats' favor. The team held the lead from that point forward, using five second-set kills from senior Amber Calhoun along with 15 assists from junior Caleigh McCorquodale to take a 2-0 lead in the match. The Bearkats made a late charge, but Calhoun's kill with the score 24-23 closed out the set for Texas State.
Neither team could gain much of an advantage in the third set as the score was tied 13 times. The Bearkats then went on a four-point spurt to take a 20-17 lead and force a Texas State timeout. The Bobcats came out of the timeout and scored the next seven points behind the strong serving of DeGeare and a pair of blocks from Calhoun. Sam Houston State came back within two, 24-22, but McCorquodale found senior Melissa Toth on match point for the kill to complete the sweep.
Deardorff led the team with 12 kills and a .423 hitting percentage, while Calhoun added 11 kills and a .381 hitting percentage. Deardorff's performance was the fifth time in the last six matches that she had at least 11 kills and a .400 hitting percentage.
McCorquodale had a double-double for the second straight match, totaling 41 assists and 11 digs.
Defensively, the Bobcats posted 10 blocks led by Calhoun's six (one solo, five assists) and sophomore Ashlee Hilbun's four (two solo, two assists).
The Bobcats will return to Strahan Coliseum for their next four matches, beginning on Wednesday, October 19 with a 6:30 p.m. match against UT Arlington. That match will also be the team's Bobcats Fight Against Breast Cancer match in which fans can get in for free by wearing a pink shirt.
