Box Score

TULSA, Okla. – Texas State fell to Northern Colorado, 3-1 (25-15, 25-21, 23-25, 25-23), in the Golden Hurricane Classic opener to drop to 8-3 on the season. Despite 13 kills on a .522 hitting percentage from Amari Deardorff, the Bears proved to be too much for Texas State Friday.
 
Shelby Vas Matt added eight kills in the match while both Alexandra Simms and Kelsey Weynand finished with seven kills each. Caylin Mahoney gave out 26 assists with five digs, and Sierra Smith led the team in the back with 11 digs. Simms added nine. At the net, Simms was also there for five blocks while Molly Ahrens and Brooke Smith both had four block assists.
 
Northern Colorado controlled the match through the first two sets, but the Bobcats changed it up after the break, moving to a 6-2 rotation in the third set with Jordan Moore and Weynand replacing Deardorff and Mahoney.
 
The Bobcats saw some early success with the change in strategy, taking the third set, 25-23. After allowing Northern Colorado hitting percentages of .520 and .312 in the first two sets, the Bobcat defense forced low hitting percentages of just .077 and .044 in the final two sets. In fact, Texas State outblocked Northern Colorado, 5-0, in the fourth set and led 19-17.
 
The Bears came back to regain the lead 21-20, but Deardorff put down a kill to tie the fourth set, 23-23. From there, a kill by Kendra Cunningham and a Texas State error gave the match to the Bears.
 
The first set was back and forth in the early running, but the Bobcats eventually gained a 10-7 lead on a dump kill from Mahoney. From there though, Northern Colorado came back to tie it, 12-12, and never looked back on the way to a 25-15 win in the opening frame.
 
Northern Colorado only hit for two errors with 15 kills for a .520 percentage in the first set, led by middle blocker Brianna Strong's six kills. Texas State's freshman duo Weynand and Vas Matt led the Bobcats with three kills each. Vas Matt hit .429 in the frame.
 
After just one kill in the first set, Deardorff responded with five kills in the second set to up her percentage to .500 through two sets. But it wasn't enough to give the Bobcats a win in the second set as the team hit .088 for a .152 percentage through two sets. Meanwhile, Northern Colorado hit .312 in the second for a .404 team hitting percentage after the first two frames.
 
In the third set, Northern Colorado gained a 4-3 lead and did not trail until the Bobcats claimed a 15-14 lead on a block by Weynand. At that point, both teams continued the back and forth action until Texas State pulled away. A Deardorff kill gave the Bobcats an 18-17 advantage, and then Texas State built the lead to 21-18, also on a Deardorff kill, one of five for her in the set.
 
The Bears, however, stormed back to tie it, 23-23. Weynand made a big kill for the 24-23 edge and Simms ended the third frame with a kill to keep the Bobcats alive. Unfortunately, Northern Colorado clinched the win in the fourth set.
 
Saturday, the Bobcats will face tournament host Tulsa at 12 p.m. and follow with a match against Arkansas at 5 p.m. Fans, remember to check the event schedule at the bottom of the homepage at www.txstatebobcats.com for links to live stats and, for the match against Tulsa, video.