Box Score
Chisum Postgame Comments | Box Score | Box Score (PDF)
San Marcos, Texas – After jumping out to a 7-0 lead in the fifth and deciding set against Sam Houston State, the Texas State volleyball team had to hold on for a 16-14 victory against its former Southland Conference rival in the team's 2012 home opener at Strahan Coliseum on Tuesday night.
In a back-and-forth match, it was no surprise that extra points were needed to decide Tuesday's outcome. After the Bobcats won 25-22 in the first set, Sam Houston State came back to even the match 1-1 with a 25-12 win in the second set. Texas State came out of intermission strong with a 25-15 victory in the third set, but the Bearkats against bounced back with a 25-21 win in the fourth set to force a fifth set.
With a strong crowd of 807 fans behind the team, Texas State raced out to a 7-0 advantage in the final set before the visitors began grinding their way back. The Bobcats led 13-6 when a 6-0 run by Sam Houston State made the score 13-12. Following a Texas State timeout, Ashlee Hilbun rifled her ninth kill of the match for a 14-12 score and two match-point opportunities for the Bobcats.
But a SHSU kill followed by a Bearkats block evened the match at 14-14. Hilbun answered with her 10th kill of the match to give the team its third match point, and she followed with a tough serve that gave Texas State an easy free ball. The home team took advantage as Caleigh McCorquodale then dished out her 20th assist of the match to Alexandra Simms who put down a kill for the final point of the match.
The win was the first of the season for Texas State (1-3), while Sam Houston State dropped to 2-2 with the loss.
The defenses were on display for both teams Tuesday night as neither team put up big numbers offensively. Sam Houston State held narrow advantages in digs (90-87) and blocks (15.0-14.0), while the Bobcats came out ahead in kills (48-25), hitting percentage (.046-.032) and aces (three-two).
Laura Whalen had one of her best games as a Bobcat, finishing the match with a career-high 26 digs from her libero position. McCorquodale chipped in with 20 digs to go along with her 20 assists for her second double-double of the season.
At the net, Hilbun and sophomore Molly Ahrens each finished with seven blocks to tie for the team lead. Hilbun finished with one solo and six assists, while Ahrens had two solos and five assists.
Simms paced the Bobcats offensively with 11 kills, and Hilbun chipped in with 10. Ahrens had a career-high nine put aways, while Morgan McDaniel tallied seven.
Texas State will now prepare for its next challenge at the Lamar Invitational this weekend. The Bobcats will face off against South Carolina State at 1 p.m. on Friday, August 31 in the team's first game of the tournament before taking on host Lamar at 7 p.m. in the team's second match of the day. The team will then wrap up the two-day tournament with a 10 a.m. match against Tulane on Saturday.
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