Kennesaw State: Box Score | Box Score (PDF) Jackson State: Box Score | Box Score (PDF)
Denton, Texas – Senior Amber Calhoun led the Texas State volleyball team to two wins on Saturday afternoon as the Bobcats captured the Mean Green Invitational championship. Texas State began the day with a sweep of Kennesaw State (25-15, 25-19, 29-27) before taking down Jackson State in three sets (25-11, 25-17, 25-19) to make it three sweeps in three matches for the Bobcats.
Calhoun was named the tournament MVP, while sophomore Rachel James was selected to the Mean Green Invitational All-Tournament Team.
For the tournament, Calhoun led the Bobcats with 27 kills (3.00/set) and 10 blocks (1.11/set). The senior also posted a .362 hitting percentage along with contributing 15 digs (1.67/set).
James started as an outside hitter for the Bobcats for the first time in her career and made the most of the opportunity, posting 25 kills (2.78/set) with a .426 hitting percentage on the offensive end. The sophomore also chipped in with five blocks for the weekend.
With three wins this weekend, the Bobcats improved to 9-5 overall for the 2011 campaign.
Texas State – 3, Kennesaw State – 0
The Bobcats began the match nearly unstoppable on the offensive end. Texas State needed just 20 attempts to put down 14 kills as the team hit .650 during the opening set. The offense would cool off a little following that first set, but the team's defense picked up the slack, recording six blocks over the final two sets as the team recorded its fifth sweep of the season.
Calhoun was a standout for the Bobcats both offensively and defensively, leading the team with 12 kills and five blocks (two solo, three assists) along with posting a .409 hitting percentage.
James made her second consecutive start on the outside for head coach Karen Chisum's squad and had a career day. Usually a right side hitter or middle blocker, James recorded a career-high 11 kills on 17 attempts for a .529 hitting percentage with the majority of her attempts coming as an outside hitter.
Senior Lindy DeGeare also stepped up as the match wore on and finished the match with nine kills. DeGeare also stood out at the service line where she was one of three Bobcats to record two aces on the day. Freshman Laura Whalen and junior Caleigh McCorquodale each tallied two aces as the Bobcats held a 7-0 advantage in the category for the match.
Texas State finished the match with a 40-30 advantage in digs and a 7-5 advantage in blocking. Offensively, the team posted a .313 hitting percentage with a 47-39 advantage in kills.
Texas State – 3, Jackson State – 0
The Bobcats made short work of Jackson State to conclude the tournament, dropping the Tigers in three quick sets. After using their regular lineup in the opening set, the Bobcats spent the next two sets altering lineups. The team hit .500 in the first set before posting a .310 hitting percentage in the second set and a .259 mark in the third set to finish the match with a .354 hitting percentage.
Calhoun and James led the offense with nine kills each to go along with hitting percentages of at least .400. Deardorff tallied seven kills, while Ashlee Hilbun added five with a .500 hitting percentage for the Bobcats.
McCorquodale ran the offense for the first two sets and racked up 26 assists before giving way to freshman Amy Bremer in the third set, who tallied 11 helpers.
Texas State helped and hurt itself at the service line, totaling eight aces while also having 11 service errors. DeGeare led the team and tied her season high with four aces for the match.
Defensively, Hilbun led the team with four blocks (two solo, two assists) while James added three.
With the conclusion of the Mean Green Invitational, the Bobcats are now done with the preconference tournament portion of their 2011 schedule. The team now looks forward to beginning Southland Conference play on Thursday, September 22 when I-35 rival UTSA make the trip to San Marcos for a 6:30 p.m. match at Strahan Coliseum. The match will be the first of four consecutive home contests for the Bobcats to begin their Southland schedule.
