Box Score | Box Score (PDF) | Southland Tournament Bracket (PDF)
Corpus Christi, Texas – The Texas State volleyball team will be leaving the Southland Conference in style after the team defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday afternoon to win the regular season championship outright and a No. 1 seed in next week's Southland Conference Tournament.
A focused Bobcat team came to play on Saturday knowing that a victory ensured Texas State its seventh regular season championship, and the team delivered in three sets, downing the home team by scores of 25-22, 25-16, 25-23 to end the Islanders' hopes of qualifying for the Southland Conference Tournament. The Islanders (13-20, 5-11 SLC) were in need of a victory on Saturday to stay in the running for the final spot in the tournament.
The Bobcats (24-7) brought their conference record to 15-1 for the season, marking the third time (and first time since 1988) in the program's history that the team went through its Southland Conference season with just one loss. The Bobcats also have two undefeated SLC seasons in their history (1991, 2000).
Texas State's first-round opponent in the three-day, single-elimination tournament hosted by Central Arkansas next week will be Northwestern State. Entering Saturday's action, seven of the eight spots in the tournament had been set with four 5-10 teams in the running for the No. 8 seed. Northwestern State was the lone 5-10 team to win their contest on Saturday to earn a matchup against the Bobcats. This season, Texas State is 2-0 in two matches versus the Lady Demons.
Texas State will be in search of its sixth Southland Conference Tournament championship beginning next Friday.
The Bobcats absorbed a strong start from a motivated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi squad and came back from an early deficit to win the first set, 25-22, before finding their groove in winning going away 25-16 in the second set.
Texas State looked to have the third set secured early on after opening up a large 12-6 lead, but the home team stormed back to take a 22-19 advantage late in the frame. However, the Bobcats pulled together following a timeout and scored six of the next seven points to bring the celebration of their first SLC regular-season crown since 2008.
Amari Deardorff paced the offense with 13 kills and a .542 hitting percentage, while Melissa Toth had 10 put-aways. Amber Calhoun and Lindy DeGeare both added nine for the Bobcats, which held a 49-36 advantage in kills.
Defensively, Ashlee Hilbun had four blocks (two solo, two assists), while both Caleigh McCorquodale and Laura Whalen had 12 digs to lead the team.
Stay tuned to www.TxStateBobcats.com for more information leading up to the Southland Conference Tournament.
