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San Marcos, Texas – It was not the sharpest that the Texas State volleyball team has played all season, but the Bobcats did enough to get past Southland Conference foe UT Arlington in four sets (25-22, 25-17, 19-25, 25-23) on Wednesday evening in Strahan Colieum. Texas State, which hosted its Bobcats Fight Against Breast Cancer pink match versus the Mavericks, extended its winning streak to eight matches with the victory.
The Bobcats were buoyed by strong performances from senior Amber Calhoun and sophomore Melissa Toth.
Calhoun finished the game with a match-high .526 hitting percentage and 12 kills as she reached double digits in kills for the fourth consecutive match. Her performance Wednesday night was also the third time in the last four matches that she hit above .500. This season, Calhoun has 12 matches of at least 10 kills and 11 matches with at least a .300 hitting percentage.
Toth began the night strong for Texas State, recording seven kills in the opening set, and finished the night with a team-high 16 kills. The sophomore outside hitter put together her ninth match this season with double-digit kills, and she has now recorded at least 10 kills in six of the team's last eight contests.
The Bobcats, who swept the Mavericks earlier this season in Arlington, looked to be on their way to a three-set sweep of UT Arlington after winning the first two on Wednesday, but the Mavericks made a run midway through the third set to take the lead before holding on for a 25-19 victory and force a fourth set.
The fourth set was close the entire way though and featured 12 tied scores and five lead changes. With the score tied at 23-23, the Bobcats received back-to-back kills from senior Lindy DeGeare and sophomore Amari Deardorff to put away the final set, 25-23, and improve to 17-6 overall and 8-1 in the Southland Conference.
With the win, the Bobcats remain in second place in the Southland Conference West Division behind undefeated UTSA.
UT Arlington lost for the fourth straight match in falling to 7-16, 3-6 SLC.
Joining Calhoun and Toth with double-digit kills was Deardorff, who finished the match with 10 put aways. DeGeare added eight along with three aces to boost her Southland Conference-leading total to 41 for the season.
Junior Caleigh McCorquodale had 45 assists from her setter position as she helped the Bobcats hold a narrow .189-.185 advantage in hitting percentage over the Mavericks.
Defensively, both teams finished the match with six blocks, while UTA held a 63-57 lead in digs. Calhoun's match-high four blocks and freshman Laura Whalen's 14 digs led the way for the Bobcats.
Texas State returns to Strahan Coliseum for its next match on Saturday, October 22 at 2 p.m. against Central Arkansas. Tickets for that match are available through the Texas State Athletics Ticket Office.
