Box Score
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San Marcos, Texas – Texas State volleyball followed up head coach Karen Chisum's 750th career victory that she earned last Saturday with her 751st on Thursday evening as the Bobcats defeated UT Arlington, 3-1 (25-18, 25-14, 18-25, 25-15), at Strahan Coliseum. The win was the second straight for Texas State.
The Bobcats improved to 8-9 overall and evened their record at 3-3 in the WAC with the victory, while UT Arlington dropped to 6-12 overall and 2-4 in conference.
A strong offense showing from the Bobcats helped fuel the team Thursday night as the team tied its season high for kills with 58 and recorded its second highest team hitting percentage for the season (.294).
Junior Amari Deardorff paced the Bobcats offensively with 16 kills and a .455 hitting percentage – the highest qualifying hitting percentage for any Bobcat in a match this season. The right side hitter has put down 43 kills over the team's last three matches, including a season-high 18 kill performance last Thursday against Idaho.
Sophomore Alexandra Simms upped her career high for kills to 15 two matches after setting a new career best with 14 winners against Idaho. The outside hitter has recorded double-digit kills in each of her past three matches and six of her last eight.
Junior Ashlee Hilbun registered a strong overall match with 10 kills, 12 digs and five blocks. The middle blocker tallied her first double-double of the season and third of her career.
Senior Caleigh McCorquodale also had a double-double, finishing with a team-high 25 assists to go along with 12 digs. She and fellow setter Ali Gonzales (19 assists, five digs) ran the Bobcat offense to its second highest hitting percentage of the season.
Freshman Morgan McDaniel and sophomore Molly Ahrens also had strong games for the Bobcats, finishing with eight and seven kills, respectively, while both hitting over .300.
Defensively, the Bobcats led UT Arlington in blocks (8.0-7.0) and digs (56-52), while four Bobcats finished with double-digit saves. Sierra Smith tallied a career-high 12 digs to tie Hilbun and McCorquodale for the team high, while Laura Whalen added 10.
Texas State pulled away late in the opening set as the team went on an 8-3 run over the final 11 points to capture 1-0 lead in the match. The Bobcats then cruised in the second set, building a 9-4 lead early on a pair of four-point runs and never looking back. The Bobcats did not trail at any point in the first two sets.
UT Arlington rallied for a third-set victory out of the break, but the Bobcats regained form in the fourth set as Deardorff put down five kills and Simms added four in the last stanza to help wrap up the victory.
Texas State will play another match at Strahan Coliseum on Saturday, October 6 when Louisiana Tech visits San Marcos for a 2 p.m. match. Tickets are available and can be purchased at the door or by visiting www.TxStateBobcats.com/tickets.
