SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State chose Homecoming weekend to play the team's best match of the season. The Bobcats simply dominated UL Lafayette, 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-17), to improve to 11-7 on the season and an undefeated 6-0 in Sun Belt Conference play for the team's best conference start since 2003.
Amanda Watkins put on an outstanding performance, tying her career high in kills and setting a new career high in hitting percentage. She finished with a match-high nine kills on a .467 hitting percentage. The junior middle blocker was hitting .818 after two sets in a dominating performance.
What helped the Bobcats most was how setters
Ali Gonzales and
Jordan Moore along with libero
Sierra Smith spread the ball around.
Kelsey Weynand and
Jordan Kohl each finished with eight kills while
Shelby Vas Matt,
Keeley Davis and
Lauren Kirch all had six kills each.
The Bobcats tallied 43 kills to just 24 for the Ragin' Cajuns and hit .236 as a team compared to just .017 for ULL. Gonzales and Moore each gave out 16 assists while Smith added eight.
While Watkins was a threat in the middle offensively, Kirch was a terror at the net defensively. She put down six block assists to help Texas State to seven blocks on the day. Smith finished with 15 digs and played an impressive game on the back line. Meanwhile, Moore tallied 10 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. Gonzales added nine digs while Weynand finished with eight. The Bobcats tallied 61 total digs in the match to just 42 for UL Lafayette.
To start the match, Texas State hit .235 while holding UL Lafayette to -.050 in hitting percentage for the first set. The Bobcats put down 14 kills compared to just seven for the Ragin' Cajuns. Five of those first-set kills came from Watkins on just seven attempts.
The second set was just as impressive as Watkins was a perfect 4-for-4. In both frames, six different Bobcats registered at least one kill.
The Bobcats also tallied two service aces in each set for a 6-0 advantage over the Ragin' Cajuns. Kirch and Weynand each had two while Smith and
Brenna Lyles served one each.
Texas State will travel to face UT Arlington Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. for the team's next action. It'll be the first rematch of the season for the Bobcats after taking down the Mavericks in a five-set thriller to open conference play back on September 16.
Coach Karen Chisum on the sweep of UL LafayetteAmanda Watkins on her impressive performance against ULL
