MONROE, La. – Texas State put away the Warhawks of UL Monroe on Sunday, 3-1 (25-18, 25-27, 25-20, 25-21), to stay undefeated in the Sun Belt Conference at 3-0 and improve to above .500 with an 8-7 overall record.
 
Freshman Jordan Kohl came through in a big way for the Bobcats, finishing with a team-high 15 kills in the match, including an eye-popping eight kills in the third set to help Texas State rebound from dropping the second set.
 
The Bobcats had four players tally double-doubles in the match, led by Kelsey Weynand, who finished with 13 kills and 17 digs. Shelby Vas Matt had 11 kills and 13 digs while setter Ali Gonzales added 29 assists and 10 digs. Libero Sierra Smith notched her first double-double of the season with a team-high 22 digs and 10 assists.
 
Jordan Moore added 15 assists in the match, and Keeley Davis led Texas State's effort at the net with four Block assists. Amanda Watkins contributed three block assists.
 
Texas State came out on fire in the first frame, putting down 15 kills en route to the 25-18 win. Weynand struck for six kills and just one error on eight attempts for a .625 hitting percentage to start the Bobcats off on the right foot.
 
In the second set, ULM hit .265 to Texas State's .159, but the Bobcats had more kills, finishing the frame with 18 to ULM's 17. Texas State started the second set in much the same way the team played the first set: on fire.
 
The Bobcats built up a 14-8 lead punctuated by a kill from Weynand. The Warhawks, however, fought all the way back with an 8-2 run to tie the set at 16-16. From there, both teams continued back-and-forth play until UL Monroe was able to put down two kills around a Texas State error to clinch the second frame, 27-25.
 
Texas State adjusted after the intermission and chose to set Kohl more often. The freshman responded with eight kills. Meanwhile, Smith adjusted to the shallow angle shots ULM started hitting and began to dig everything.
 
In the third frame, Texas State trailed until tying the match, 8-8. Once the Bobcats took the lead, 9-8, on a kill from Kohl, they didn't look back. Texas State wouldn't trail again in the frame, and Davis struck the final two kills of the set to put the Bobcats up 2-1 in the match.
 
Lauren Kirch came on strong in the fourth and final set, leading the Bobcats with four kills. Texas State only needed 12 kills to earn the 25-21 win. The Bobcats trailed, 16-10, but came back to tie it at 18-18, 19-19 and 20-20. From there, Kirch, Watkins and Weynand all struck kills in a 5-1 run to clinch the match.
 
Texas State returns home to host South Alabama at 6:30 p.m. at Strahan Coliseum in San Marcos.







Coach Chisum talks about the win over UL Monrow and previews South Alabama






 

.@TexasStateVball beats ULM 3-1. Improve to 8-7 on the year and 3-0 in conference play.

— KTSW Sports (@KTSWSports) September 21, 2014