JONESBORO, Ark. – Texas State went 1-2 against Arkansas State last season with both losses coming in the regular season and going down to five sets. Friday night, however, the Bobcats made quick work of the Red Wolves, sweeping them off the floor (25-22, 25-18, 25-23) for the team's second sweep of the season. Texas State stayed undefeated in the Sun Belt Conference and improved to 2-0 in conference play and 7-7 overall.
Â
Sophomore outside hitters
Kelsey Weynand and
Shelby Vas Matt led the Bobcats past ASU. Each of them finished with a double-double with Weynand earning hers halfway through the second set. Weynand finished with 15 kills and 15 digs while Vas Matt tallied 12 kills on a .321 hitting percentage with 14 digs and an ace.
Â
Offensively, the middle blockers were also a big threat.
Amanda Watkins and
Lauren Kirch combined for 13 kills. Watkins hit .417 for the match while Kirch added two service aces.
Â
Sierra Smith continues to impress from the libero position. Friday night she led the Bobcats with 16 digs and served up an ace. She leads the team in both categories on the season.
Â
The setters were efficient, combining for 44 assists on the night.
Ali Gonzales gave out 24 assists, and
Jordan Moore finished with 18. Both of them added eight digs apiece.
Â
Arkansas State scored the first two points of the match before giving the Bobcats a point on a service error. Weynand followed with a kill, as did Kirch, to give Texas State a 3-2 lead early in the opening frame.
Â
The Red Wolves wouldn't lead again in the first set until going up 20-19. The ASU lead was short-lived, however, as Weynand put down a kill and Kirch followed with an ace. An ASU error put the Bobcats up 22-20. Two more errors from the Red Wolves sandwiched another Weynand kill and ended the first set in favor of the Bobcats, 25-22.
Â
The Bobcats made a statement in the second set, hitting .385 as a team with 18 kills and just three errors. Texas State held Arkansas State to just a .171 percentage and only 10 kills en route to a 25-18 second-set victory. The Red Wolves only hit .163 in the opening set and finished the night at .182 as a team.
Â
Arkansas State jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second set, but the Bobcats tied it at 4-4 on another Weynand kill and at 5-5 on a kill from Vas Matt. Both teams jostled back and forth until Texas State used a 4-1 run to gain a 17-13 lead. The closest Arkansas State would get in the second set after that was two points, 17-15.
Â
From there, Texas State went on another 4-1 run for a 21-16 lead. With a 22-18 lead,
Keeley Davis came alive with her first two kills of the match, consecutive shots down the line, to give the Bobcats set point, 24-18. Vas Matt claimed the 2-0 lead in the match with a service ace to end the second set, 25-18.
Â
The third set was a much tighter bout. Arkansas State came out of the break to play the team's best set. The Red Wolves hit a .209 for the third set with 14 kills. Both numbers were their best of the match.
Â
Both teams kept it close throughout the final set with Arkansas State tying the third frame, 22-22, on a kill by the ASU leader Sarah Kemp. She was the only member of ASU with double-digit kills, hitting for 14 in the match. No other Red Wolf tallied more than six.
Â
An error from Arkansas State followed by a kill from
Jordan Kohl gave the Bobcats match point, 24-22. Kemp held off the inevitable for ASU with a kill, but, fittingly, Weynand struck the final kill to clinch the match.
Â
Texas State will look to stay undefeated in conference play in their next match, a road battle at UL Monroe at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Weynand on playing error free volleyball to get the win
Watkins on how attacking from the middle helped get the win
Â
