Box Score

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State's senior trio of Amari Deardorff, Ashlee Hilbun and Molly Ahrens all tallied double-digit kills in a five-set win over South Alabama Sunday (17-25, 28-26, 24-26, 25-21, 15-8). Deardorff hit a team high 18 kills with a .385 hitting percentage while Hilbun finished with 11 kills and just one error for a .476. Ahrens added 10 kills.
 
Alexandra Simms also provided offensive support with eight kills while freshmen Shelby Vas Matt and Kelsey Weynand combined for 11 kills.
 
Caylin Mahoney and Jordan Moore combined for 44 assists with Mahoney leading the way with 34. She doubled up with 14 digs while Weynand and Vas Matt added 13 and 11 respectively. Libero Sierra Smith led all players in the match with 21 digs.
 
At the net, Hilbun led Texas State's effort with eight block assists. The team finished with 13 total blocks. Ahrens notched two solos and three assists.
 
The Bobcats started slow with a 25-17 loss in the opening set. South Alabama hit an impressive .310 in the first set while the Bobcats hit for .111. No Texas State player notched more than two kills while five Jaguars had two or more kills led by Mallory Moore's four.
 
Texas State bounced back in the second set, but it took work. The teams went into extra points. The Bobcats were the first to set point with a 24-23 lead, but South Alabama answered with back-to-back points to earn set point. The Bobcats answered back with two more points off South Alabama errors, but the Jaguars tied it, 26-26. From there, Deardorff hit for a kill and Hilbun and Keeley Davis followed with a block to win it.
 
It was more extra points in the third set, but this time to South Alabama's advantage. The Jaguars were first to set point when a Lewis kill made it 24-23, but Ahrens answered for the Bobcats to tie it at 24-24. South Alabama followed with consecutive points for the win and the early 2-1 lead.
 
Deardorff responded with her best set in the fourth. She struck for six kills on a .385 percentage in the fourth set along with an ace as she saw time in service for the first time this season. Hilbun also stepped up with four kills in the set and the team finished the set with 19 kills, the most of any set in the match, en route to a 25-21 fourth-set win.
 
The Bobcats rode that momentum to an early 6-3 lead in the final set. Down, 3-2, Hilbun put down a kill to give Texas State the opportunity to serve. Deardorff followed with consecutive aces and South Alabama committed an error for a 4-0 Bobcat run. A run that proved deadly in the shortened fifth set.
 
To keep the pressure on, up 9-7, Texas State put together another run. This one went for five consecutive points, four of which were USA errors. Deardorff put the final nail in the coffin with a kill across court to improve to 15-9 on the season and 5-4 in the Sun Belt Conference.
 
It won't be long before the Bobcats meet up with the Jaguars again as the teams play in each other's next match. Texas State travels to Mobile, Ala., for another conference match against South Alabama Friday at 7 p.m. and will follow with a 12 p.m. Sunday match against Troy.