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College Station, Texas – The fifth-ranked team in the country was too much for Texas State on Saturday morning in the Bobcats' final match of the Texas A&M Invitational hosted at Reed Arena in College Station as No. 5 USC dropped Texas State in three sets (25-18, 25-19, 25-22).

The Trojans height and athleticism caused problems for the Bobcats, especially offensively where USC hit .321 for the match with 47 kills compared to a .212 hitting percentage and 37 kills for the Bobcats.

Freshman Morgan McDaniel turned in the best match of her young career, finishing Saturday's match with 11 kills on 14 attempts with just one hitting error for a .714 hitting percentage. She also contributed four digs and an ace on the afternoon.

Junior Ashlee Hilbun stood out on both sides of the net, totaling 11 kills and a match-high three blocks.

Sophomore Caylin Mahoney played a little over two sets at setter for Texas State and finished with her first career double-double as a Bobcat, dishing out 23 assists while adding a team-high 10 digs.

Sophomore Alexandra Simms led the team in attempts for the third straight game to begin the season and finished the match with eight kills, six digs and a pair of blocks.

After USC took the first two sets, the Bobcats came out strong in the third set with a 5-1 lead after an ace from freshman Sierra Smith and kill by McDaniel. A kill from Hilbun followed by a Texas State block made the score 8-3 in favor of the Bobcats. The Trojans made a push to take a 12-11 lead, but Mahoney won a joust at the net to make it 12-12. That ignited a 5-1 run by Texas State highlighted by kills from McDaniel and Brooke Smith, who made her first career start for the Bobcats. However, after leading 18-13, USC went on a 12-4 run to close out the match and complete the sweep.

For her performance throughout the tournament, Hilbun was named to the Texas A&M Invitational All-Tournament Team. The middle blocker finished the three games with a team-high 33 kills (3.30 kills/set), .312 hitting percentage and six blocks.

Texas State will now look forward to its home opener on Tuesday, August 28 when Sam Houston State comes to Strahan Coliseum for a 6:30 p.m. match.

Season tickets are still available for the volleyball team's home schedule. For just $40, you can get a ticket to all 10 home matches this fall. Texas State will play its first home match of the 2012 season on Tuesday, August 28 at 6:30 p.m. against Sam Houston State. For more information on tickets, visit www.TxStateBobcats.com/tickets.

Texas A&M Invitational All-Tournament Team

Ronni Munkeby (North Dakota)

Alisia Kastmo (Texas A&M)

Lindsey Miller (Texas A&M)

Ashlee Hilbun (Texas State)

Katie Fuller (USC)

Natalie Hagglund (USC)

Samantha Bricio (USC) - MVP

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