MOBILE, Ala. – Texas State officially clinched a berth in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Tournament with a 3-1 victory over South Alabama Sunday afternoon (25-22, 25-18, 22-25, 25-19). Freshman Jordan Kohl led the Bobcats and all players with 16 kills on a .364 hitting percentage while senior setter Caylin Mahoney came up one kill short of a triple-double in just her second match back.
 
Mahoney gave out 41 assists with 10 digs and nine kills. She was also a terror at the net with seven blocks. Lauren Kirch led the Bobcats in blocks with eight to help Texas State put down a season-high 14 blocks in the match. Amanda Watkins added five blocks while Kohl tallied four more.
 
On the offensive side, Alexandra Simms also finished with double-digit kills with 10 kills and no errors for an outstanding .556 hitting percentage. Mahoney's nine kills also came without an error for a .500 percentage to help the Bobcats hit .257 as a squad compared to South Alabama's .164. In fact, the Texas State defense held South Alabama to a mere .034 percentage in the deciding fourth set.
 
Shelby Vas Matt led the team in digs with 14 while Sierra Smith and Mahoney each had 10 each. Brenna Lyles and Keeley Davis added seven apiece. In service, Vas Matt and Kirch served up two aces each while Mahoney added one for five Texas State aces to none for South Alabama.
 
Mahoney and Kohl led Texas State to a first set victory with 11 assists from the senior setter and six kills from the freshman. Davis added four kills in the opening frame while two other Bobcats had two kills each. Mahoney added seven digs in the set.
 
Both teams played an even set throughout the frame, but Texas State scored five consecutive points to close out the set, 25-22, and claim a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
The Bobcats took control in the second set, leading by as much as 19-9. The Jaguars were able to score six consecutive points to close the gap to 19-15, but it would not be enough to overcome four more kills from Kohl and three each from Vas Matt and Mahoney.
 
Texas State only committed four errors with 14 kills on just 28 attempts for a team hitting percentage of .357 in the second frame. South Alabama could only manage a .179 hitting percentage.
 
Out of the intermission, South Alabama put up a fight and was able to stay alive with a third-set victory, 25-22. The Bobcats, however, bounced back with a 25-19 victory in the fourth set. Texas State controlled the final set throughout to clinch the match and a tournament berth.
 
Texas State will get nearly a week off before the team's next match, a rematch against Sun Belt Conference leading UALR on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Strahan Coliseum.



 

.@TexasStateVball notches 12th Sun Belt Conference victory: https://t.co/IRmEhWNh2H #TXST — Star Sports (@UStar_Sports) November 2, 2014

Let's go @TexasStateVball ?????? — Macy Cherry (@CherryMacy2) November 2, 2014