SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State used a balanced attack, orchestrated by senior setter Caylin Mahoney, to keep No. 7 Georgia State off balance in the opening round of the 2014 Sun Belt Conference Championship Tournament. Behind 10 blocks and 15 more kills than Georgia State, the Bobcats swept the Panthers, 25-13, 25-21, 25-16, to advance to play No. 3 Arkansas State in the semifinal round at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
 
Mahoney gave out 25 assists with six kills on a .500 hitting percentage and added nine digs to lead the Bobcats past GSU. Meanwhile, reigning Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year Jordan Kohl led the team in kills with eight while Shelby Vas Matt added seven with 12 digs and an ace.
 
Brooke Smith led the team's defensive efforts as she was responsible for seven of the team's 10 blocks with six block assists and a solo block for a new career-high. Kohl added five block assists. For the match, six different Bobcats put down a block.
 The Bobcat defense, led by Vas Matt's 12 digs and Smith's 7 blocks, forced Georgia State to hit a -.056 hitting percentage with six more errors than kills. The Bobcats forced a -.154 from the Panthers in the opening frame.
 Texas State made it a team effort in every category. In addition to six different Bobcats with a block, six Texas State players finished with five kills or more and four Bobcats served up an ace. Alexandra Simms finished with three aces and, at one point in the first set, served seven consecutive Bobcat points to push a 14-10 Texas State lead up to 21-10.
 
After the Bobcats put the first set out of reach behind the service of Simms, they went on to snag a 1-0 lead in the match with a 25-13 win. The second set was the closest Georgia State would get to the Bobcats and the only set in which the Panthers hit a positive hitting percentage.
 
Georgia State went up in the second frame, 8-5, but Texas State eventually tied the set at 13-13. The teams would go back and forth from there to finish the set. Finally, at 19-19, the Bobcats started to pull away. With consecutive kills from Smith and Kohl followed by back-to-back aces from Simms, Texas State went up 23-19. A Georgia State error and a Sierra Smith ace put the Bobcats up 2-0 in the match.
 
The third and final set was much like the first: the Bobcats dominated. Texas State came out of the intermission to go up 8-1 in the frame. A Georgia State error and kills from Simms and Kohl put the Bobcats up 3-0. After a Panther point, Vas Matt scored back-to-back kills before another Georgia State error. All-SBC second teamer Lauren Kirch followed with a kill and Kohl added another one for the 8-1 lead.
 
From there, the Bobcats were off and running. Georgia State was able to produce a run to cut the Bobcat lead down from 16-5 to 16-9, but Brooke Smith ended the run with a kill. Shortly after, Simms served up three more points for the Bobcats, and Texas State claimed the team's first win of the 2014 Sun Belt Conference Championship Tournament.
 
The Bobcats will face Arkansas State in the semifinal round at 6:30 p.m. Friday for the right to go on to play in the SBC Championship match. This season, Texas State swept the Red Wolves in both meetings along with a sweep in the 2013 SBC Championship last season.




Head Coach Karen Chisum on the team's first round victory






 

.@TexasStateVball defeats Georgia State in three sets, advancing to the semifinals. Bobcats to play Arkansas State. #TXST — Star Sports (@UStar_Sports) November 28, 2014	Great win @TexasStateVball #TXST #ThisIsOurHouse — Fastbreak Club (@fastbreak_club) November 28, 2014
FINAL: #2 @TexasStateVball 3, #7 @GeorgiaStateVB 0 Sun Belt Championship - Quarterfinals NEXT: Texas State vs. #2 Arkansas State — Sun Belt Conference (@SunBelt) November 28, 2014	@TexasStateVball won its first round match against Georgia State!!! Great job ladies! #TXST #FunBelt pic.twitter.com/IqzHKpfixY — The Loud Crowd (@TXSTLoudCrowd) November 28, 2014