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San Marcos, Texas – New Mexico State edged Texas State on Saturday afternoon at Strahan Coliseum to capture the CenturyLink Premier championship with a perfect 4-0 record during the three-day tournament. The Aggies needed four sets to get past the Bobcats, winning the first two sets 25-20 and 25-18 before the home team came back to win the third set, 25-22. New Mexico State then needed an extra point to come away with a tight fourth set, taking the final stanza 26-24.
The Bobcats finished the CenturyLink Premier with a 2-2 record to take third. Houston Baptist, which defeated Texas State to begin the tournament, finished 3-1 to place second, while Northwestern State went 1-3 to take fourth. Louisiana-Lafayette finished 0-4 for the weekend to take fifth.
With the loss, Texas State dropped to 6-5 overall, while New Mexico State improved to 8-2 in 2011.
A bright spot all weekend for the Bobcats was sophomore Amari Deardorff who was named to the CenturyLink Premier All-Tournament Team. The right side hitter led the Texas State offense with 53 kills on the weekend for an average of more than three per set while also hitting at a .381 clip. Deardorff also helped out on the defensive end with 15 blocks for an average of nearly a block per set.
Deardorff posted 13 of the Bobcats' 45 kills on Saturday against New Mexico State to lead the team. She also recorded a career-high seven blocks on the defensive side of the net as Texas State finished with 10 stuffs for the match.
Junior Patti Bradshaw matched her career high that she set just one day ago with a game-high 19 digs after making her second straight start for the team at libero.
Freshman setter Amy Bremer made her second straight start for Texas State and handed out 35 assists to go along with seven digs, four kills and a pair of aces.
Texas State plays next on Friday, September 16 when the team heads to Denton, Texas for a tournament at North Texas. The Bobcats will begin the two-day affair on Friday against host North Texas before taking on Kennesaw State and Jackson State on Saturday.
Final Tournament Standings
New Mexico State (4-0) – 1st
Houston Baptist (3-1) – 2nd
Texas State (2-2) – 3rd
Northwestern State (1-3) - 4th
Louisiana-Lafayette (0-4) – 5th
All-Tournament Team
Jennah DeVries – New Mexico State (MVP)
Meredith Hays – New Mexico State
Kelsey Brennan – New Mexico State
Jolie Graf – Houston Baptist
Heather Leaverton – Houston Baptist
Amari Deardorff – Texas State
Emily Sweet – Northwestern State
