SAN MARCOS, Texas – Coming off a tough weekend, Texas State rebounded in a big way with a 3-2 victory over UT Arlington (18-25, 25-22, 17-25, 25-14, 19-17) to start Sun Belt Conference play 1-0. The Bobcats benefitted from standout performances from two freshmen, Jordan Kohl and Lauren Kirch, in a match that came down to the very end, a 19-17 fifth set.
  Kohl tallied 15 kills on just 28 attempts to hit .393, a team-high for the Bobcats. Kelsey Weynand led the squad in kills with 17 and added 12 digs. Shelby Vas Matt also double-doubled with 12 kills and 15 digs while Ali Gonzales gave out 28 assists with 11 digs for the team's third double-double in the match. Kirch added 14 kills and a team-high four block assists with some big digs in the final set. Defensively, libero Sierra Smith continues to pace the Bobcats with 31 digs.
 
After the Bobcats dropped the first set, they stayed alive in the second set to force an early split. The Mavericks rebounded to take the third, but the Bobcats won the match in the fourth and fifth sets. Shelby Vas Matt struggled through three sets, but made an impact in the fourth with four errorless kills on six attempts to lead the Bobcats in the frame. Behind her, Kirch and Kohl each put down three kills to help the team hit .333 as a whole in the fourth set while holding UT Arlington to a .000 hitting percentage.
 
The Bobcats did not register a block in the first three sets, but came out in the fourth and put three down against UT Arlington. Kirch was in on three while Vas Matt had two block assists and Kohl registered one. Texas State added two more in the fifth.
 
Trailing, 2-1, Texas State jumped out to a 20-9 lead on UTA in the fourth set before the Mavericks fought back to make the score respectable. The Bobcats took the set 25-14, and then it was on for the fifth and final frame.
 
Texas State fell behind early in the last set, 7-3, but responded with a 6-1 run to claim a 9-8 lead. Amanda Watkins started it with a kill and Kohl followed with two more. Aided by UTA errors, the Bobcats took the lead. Texas State held the lead until UTA passed the Bobcats up, 14-13, to claim match point on a Bobcat error.
 
Keeley Davis answered for the Bobcats with a kill and UTA committed an error to put the Bobcats up 15-14. From there, both teams jostled back and forth until Texas State trailed 17-16. From there, Vas Matt struck a kill and Kohl followed with two more to clinch the match.
 
Texas State takes to the road for the next conference matches at Arkansas State at 7 p.m. Friday and UL Monroe at 1 p.m. Sunday.













 

Amazing WIN tonight @TexasStateVball way to start conference play!!! Way to fight all the way to the end ladies!!! — The Loud Crowd (@TXSTLoudCrowd) September 17, 2014	@KTSWSports: Huge win for @TexasStateVball (18-25,25-22,17-25,25-14,19-17) over UTA. Improve to 6-7 on the year and 1-0 in SBC play — KTSW Sports (@KTSWSports) September 17, 2014
Texas State Volleyball with a big WIN over UT Arlington in 5!!! @TexasStateVball pic.twitter.com/f90eLDjsX8 — Buck James Buchanan (@BuckCDT) September 17, 2014